Dueling Destinies
by infantamagdalena
Summary: A write through of the Bioware Stars Wars: Knights of the Old Republic game. Featuring F!Revan/Carth Onasi.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Bastila looked down at her feet as the lift zoomed towards the bridge of the ship. She slowly curled and uncurled her fist as she repeated the Jedi Code over and over in her head. This was her moment to prove herself worthy to the Jedi Council. There were several Jedi accompanying her, yet they all kept to themselves. The closer they got to the bridge, the more tension filled the air. Although no one wanted to mention, they could all feel the dark energy permeating the Force. Revan was more powerful than they had anticipated, and it was going to take all their strength to defeat him.

Suddenly, the lift jolted to a halt. Bastila maintained her balance and quickly used the Force to pull the doors open. She scrambled out and heard her companions follow suit. Sitting calmly at the end of the bridge was their nemesis. She stood up and walked towards them. Summoning all of her courage and begging her voice not to quiver, Bastila spoke. "You cannot win, Revan."

Without responding, Revan ignited a blood red lightsaber. With her free hand, she Force choked two of her companions. Her powers were so great that they dropped to the ground instantly, their necks broken. Bastila looked at the two remaining Jedi and was pleased to see that they were standing their ground, albeit with terrified expressions on their faces. Revan waited calmly at the end of the bridge, waiting for Bastila to make her move. She closed her eyes and searched through the Force. The battle was waging fiercely, and she could sense that the Republic was starting to tip towards the losing side.

Bastila had a choice to make. She could either focus her Battle Meditation skill on helping the Republic gain an advantage or she could use it on herself and her companions in their duel with Revan. Before she had the chance to make the decision, a large explosion rocked the ship. Her two companions were knocked off their feet and landed against the wall with a sickening crunch. She struggled to stand up and noticed that she was the only one to do so. Bastila rushed over to Revan and ripped her mask off.

It took Bastila a moment to compose herself from the shock, she was finally getting to see the monster beneath the mask. The woman was tan with dark brown hair, matted with blood and sweat. There was a large gash on her head and it was bleeding profusely. Bastila searched through the Force, hoping to feel this woman's life. It was there, but only a delicate flicker. In moments, she would be dead. Summoning all of her strength, she grasped onto that spark of life and held tight. Her mission was to bring Revan back to the Jedi Council alive and she refused to fail.

The last few days had been a whirlwind for Bastila. She hadn't had enough strength to use her Battle Meditation power after saving Revan's life. Thankfully, a backup team had arrived and the two were taken off the ship. They were the only survivors. She had found out later that it had been Revan's apprentice, Malak, who had fired on his master. Such was the way of the Sith. The rescue ship rushed them to the Temple in Coursant and she was immediately placed in the recovery ward. Bastila had been discharged after a few days, her wounds more mental than physical. Naturally, the moment she left, the Jedi Council summoned her. Although she was exhausted, but she had no choice.

When she entered the room, she was shocked to see that the entire council was standing in front of her. Bastila took a deep breath and walked towards them. There were a few familiar faces; the council from Dantooine was also present. Things must have been serious if both councils had been summoned.

Bastila reached the center of the room and stood with her hands behind her back. "You asked to see me?"

Master Vandar stood up from his seat and smiled. "We did, Padawan Shan. First of all, we wanted to thank you for all of the work during the battle. It could not have been easy. Especially with your saving of Darth Revan. A lesser person would have left her for dead. But you saved her life."

Despite her training, Bastila was slightly disappointed that Revan had survived. Yes, she had completed her mission to keep the woman alive, but part of her believed that the galaxy would have been far better off with such a malevolent force dead. She quickly pushed the thoughts away and nodded her head.

Vandar continued. "Currently, Revan is healing in the recovery ward. Only the nurse and the people in this room know her true identity. Everyone else is under the impression that she perished on the ship."

Before Master Vandar could continue, Master Vrook interrupted. "Are we sure that this is the right idea? Who says that history will not repeat itself?"

Within seconds, the Council erupted into loud arguments. The masters were all waving their hands and speaking loudly to get their points across. Bastila was shocked, this was the first time that she had ever seen disorder amongst the masters. When it showed no sign of slowing down, she cleared her throat. They didn't seem to hear her, so she shouted, "Excuse me?"

Suddenly, all of the arguments stopped. The masters who had left their chairs slowly sat back down, their faces red with embarrassment. Master Vandar was the first one to speak. "You must excuse our actions, Padawan Shan. This subject is very delicate."

Bastila nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, sir, what was all of this commotion about?"

"You see, Padawan Shan, there are some on the Council who see Revan's survival as a gift. Our enemy has been handed to us and we could use this as an advantage to end this horrible war."

She was shocked at what she heard. The Council surely could not be suggesting what she thought they were suggesting? After all of the death and destruction that she had caused, Bastila did not see how it could possibly make sense. However, she knew her place and that did not involve questioning the Council's decision.

A woman with white blonde hair spoke next. "Well, I for one, think this is a terrible idea! Who knows what the consequences could be?"

"Atris, this is our chance to see the Sith plans! With their seemingly endless supplies, they are practically guaranteed to win this war! If we can find out how they are accomplishing this, then we will have the upper hand." Master Vandar said slowly.

Despite her personal feelings, Bastila could see the genius of the plan. Turn their own enemy to their side with no one the wiser. It would be complicated, but if successful, it would save the galaxy.

Three hours later, Bastila was finally dismissed from the Council chambers. She was exhausted and could begin to feel a migraine starting behind her eyes. All she wanted to do was go to sleep, but she knew that there was one last thing that she had to do before she could rest.

Bastila made her way to the medical ward. No one gave her a second look as she navigated the twisting hallways. Finally, she found the nondescript door that Master Vandar had told her about. Entering in the lock code, she entered into a dimly lit hallway.

When she reached the end, there was another door, but it wasn't locked. Bastila twisted the knob and was shocked by what she saw. There was a kolto tank in the center of the room with a woman floating inside. Without all of her armor on, Revan looked small and insignificant. She was short, only a hair over five feet tall. Her black hair was long, floating wild in the kolto. Her tan skin was marred by bruises. In this state, Bastila almost felt sorry for her.

She walked over and placed her hands on the glass tank. "Why, Revan? Why did you cause all of this death and destruction? I have heard of you and your time with the Jedi. You were on a path to greatness and you gave it all up for this?"

Despite mentally repeating the Jedi Code, Bastila started to cry. She sunk to the floor and gathered her knees up to her chest. What the council had instructed her to do seemed impossible and she was overwhelmed. Being given responsibility had been nothing new to Bastila. Ever since her Battle Meditation power had been discovered, the Masters had paid particular attention to her. However, this time, it seemed to be too much. If she succeeded, then the war would end. But, if she failed, the consequences would be dire.

Bastila sat there for a long time, pressed up against the glass. Slowly, she was able to calm herself down and meditate. All along, she had known that it was her duty to perform the task that the Council, but it was a difficult pill to swallow. All Bastila wanted to do was succeed, but she wasn't so sure she could.

As she stood up and walked away, Bastila took one last look at the woman in the tank. "We can do this." she whispered.

What Bastila failed to notice as she left the room was the single tear that rolled down Revan's face. It dissolved quickly in the kolto, leaving no trace of its existence.


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

Magdalena Tetra attempted to rub the sleep from her eyes, but wasn't entirely successful. "Just one more document, and then I will call it a night." she thought to herself.

She pulled the next item from the top of the stack and began reading it. For once, the message that she was translating seemed to be important. After completing the translation, Mag saved it onto a blank datapad and rushed off to deliver it to the Jedi.

Commander Carth Onasi was frustrated beyond belief. He had just left a meeting with Admiral Dodonna and things had not gone the way he had wanted them too. As he walked down the hallway, he was consumed by his thoughts. Carth was sick of playing the role of onboard adviser to the Jedi. Bastila Shan may possess the extraordinary power of Battle Meditation, but she was a young and inexperienced Padawan. She had limited battle experience and no leadership training. It was a nightmare.

As he turned the corner, Carth didn't see the young woman approaching him. The two collided. The woman, being much smaller than him, hit the floor. Carth was worried until he heard the woman laughing. He offered her a hand and then helped her to her feet. After she stood up, she began brushing the dirt off of her pants. "Thank you, Commander Onasi. I apologize for running into you. I was in such a hurry to find the Jedi that I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"It's quite alright, Miss…"

Carth flushed. He was a commander that always prided himself on knowing the names of all of his crew members. However, he couldn't seem to place hers.

"Tetra, sir. My name is Mag Tetra. Everything is fine, sir. I am working as a translator for the Jedi and I believe that I may have found something important."

He nodded. "If you don't mind, Miss Tetra, would you quickly explain what the documents' contents are?

Mag began to speak, but an announcement over the loudspeaker interrupted her. "Commander Onasi to the bridge. Repeat, Commander Onasi to the bridge."

Carth resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he calmly turned to Mag and asked her if she would mind accompanying him to the bridge. He was quite curious about what the documents said. Mag nodded and followed him down the corridor.

He turned to her and asked, "How long have you been with the Jedi, Miss Tetra?"

"You can call me Mag, sir. I actually haven't been with them for long. Bastila contacted me a couple of days before the ship docked in Coursant. I was in between jobs and figured my language skills could do some good."

Before Carth could ask Mag what she did for a living, they reached the bridge. He pushed open the door and saw that it was filled with both crew members and the Jedi. Bastila stepped forward and said, "Commander Onasi, I am glad that you are here. We have a bit of a situation."

Carth swallowed and nodded, knowing if he spoke, it would only be sarcastic. Of course there was a situation, otherwise he wouldn't have been paged to the bridge. Bastila continued. "The computer systems seem to be indicating that there is a Sith ship floating around nearby, coming dangerously close to our path. However, there seems to be no way to change our course without giving away our position."

With that statement, arguing erupted in the bridge between the Jedi and military personnel. Mag rolled her eyes and tried to stop the fighting, but nobody would listen. Knowing that there was no reason for this to be happening, besides tensions running high, she stood up on a chair, put her two index in her mouth, and out a loud whistle. Everyone immediately stopped speaking.

"Listen, the longer we keep fighting, the closer we are to getting intercepted by the Sith ship and the less time we have to perform evasive action." Mag said.

One of the navigators sitting near the chair that Mag was standing on asked, "Who the hell is she?"

Several others were nodding their heads in agreement. Carth, using his best commander's voice, spoke up in her defense. "She is translator who is working with the Jedi. But, at the moment, that doesn't matter. What matters is that she is right."

The same navigator spoke up. "Well, what does she know then? If she is just a translator?"

Mag, thoroughly insulted, stepped down off the chair, and made her way to one of the navigation computers. "Well, I know that in less than ten minutes, we will have traveled too far down our path to make a safe backtrack or an evasive maneuver. I also know of an alternative route that will be able to get us safely away without setting us too far off course."

She opened up a set of different star charts and began plotting out a different course. Within a few moments, she displayed her handiwork to the crowd. 

There were several cries saying that this was an unknown route. Mag crossed her arms and smirked. "Of course it's unknown to the military, it's an old smuggler's route."

Carth, who had remained quiet for most of the exchange, raised an eyebrow. "And how exactly would you know about this path, Mag?"

She flashed him a quick smile before her face turned serious. "Does that really matter at the moment, Commander? It could be the only viable option we have at this point."

Once again, a whole other set of arguments erupted. Everyone in the bridge was offering their own suggestion of what to do. Mag, realizing that there was nothing else that she could do, quietly slipped out of the room. As she left, she couldn't help but to think that there was a reason that the Republic was losing the damn war.

The Endar Spire lurched and before Mag's half asleep body could react, she cracked her head on the nightstand. Cursing, she attempted to stand up, but fell over again when the ship swayed violently. _"Well, they clearly didn't take my advice."_ she thought as she managed to stand up.

After quickly putting her clothes on and gathering her things, Mag rushed open to the door. When it didn't open automatically, she pushed the manual override button. Again, nothing happened. She swore and opened up the electric panel to see if she could get the door to open. After several minutes and several electrical shocks later, Mag had still not managed to get the door to open.

Luckily, only moments after she had resigned herself to dying alone in her bunk, the door slid silently open. Mag jumped up, blaster in one hand, a vibroblade in the other. She nearly fired, but stopped herself. "Damn it, Trask! I almost shot you!"

"Well, I'm glad you didn't! C'mon, we have to get going, the ship is under attack."

Mag wanted to come back with a snide comment, but held her tongue. There was time for banter later. She followed Trask out of the room and was about to ask him what exactly was happening, but his comm link went off before she could say anything.

"This is Commander Carth Onasi. All remaining personnel need to make their way to the escape pods. Repeat, all remaining personnel to the escape pods."

"Damn, if the commander says it's bad, it is bad!"

Mag nodded and continued to follow Trask down the corridor. They proceeded with caution because they could hear the torrent of blaster fire. As careful as they were, they ended up in the middle of the melee. As they dodged for cover, Mag fired a shot over her shoulder. But, all it hit was the wall. She suddenly remembered why she didn't like blasters.

Thankfully, Trask was a much better shot than her. He quickly picked off two of the Sith. Suddenly, they heard a scream to their right: the last of their allies had been killed. Panicking, Mag turned to Trask. "Cover me."

He nodded and raised his blasters. Mag rolled out from behind the wall and unsheathed her vibrosword. The Sith soldiers were too distracted by Trask's blaster bolts to notice her. She used this to her advantage and quickly stabbed one in the back. As his body sunk to the ground, the two remaining Sith turned to face her. She moved quickly. Mag slashed one across the back of the leg, making him an easy target for Trask. The second soldier proved a little trickier because he had had time to withdraw his blade while Mag was attacking his companion.

The two dueled fiercely. Unfortunately, they were moving too quickly for Trask to get off a clean shot. After several heated minutes, Mag gained the upper hand. But, just as she was about to stab the Sith soldier in the neck, he drew his blade across her stomach. Despite the pain, Mag still managed to jam her blade into him. Both sank to the ground.

After checking that all the Sith were dead, Trask rushed over to Mag. "Are you alright?" he asked while fishing around in his kit for a kolto patch.

She waved him aside. "It's just a cut, nothing too serious. We don't have time to fix it, we have to keep moving."

Trask nodded, but there was a skeptical look in his eyes. "Well, if you insist. By the way, that was some pretty fancy footwork back there. Despite that, what could you possibly have been thinking; jumping into the middle of a firefight like that?"

Mag laughed. "What can I say? I'm terrible with a blaster!"

The two continued on their path, occasionally fighting of groups of Sith soldiers. When they finally made it to the bridge, Trask turned to Mag. "I'm going to switch to my vibroblade, using a blaster in such cramped quarters is just asking for trouble."

She was glad he had thought of it and watched their backs as he switched weapons. Once he was ready, Trask moved to open the door. He counted up to three and the door slid open.

The two were greeted by a large group of Sith soldiers. They rushed in and began fighting for what seemed like hours, but in reality, was only minutes. Mag stabbed, parried, and feinted desperately, simply trying not to die. Between the wound on her head and the gash on her abdomen, she was tiring quickly. When the last Sith was killed, she slid to the floor.

Trask rushed over and was concerned when he saw the blood spreading across her shirt. "Mag, we really should patch you up. You look like hell."

She waved him aside again. "We don't have time for that. We need to get to the escape pods before it is too late!"

Although he didn't like it, Trask knew there was no point in arguing with her. So, he helped her to her feet and they made their way to the door. Suddenly, Mag stopped in her tracks. "Trask, is there another way we can do? I don't know why, but I really don't think we should go this way."

Mag couldn't describe what the feeling was, but she knew it was bad. It felt oily, dark, and disturbing. Trask shook his head. "If we have a chance at making it to the escape pods in time, this is the best route."

As soon as he finished speaking, the doors slid open. Behind them stood a tall, bald man wearing black armor. Without saying a word, he ignited a red, double-bladed lightsaber.

Trask, knowing what he had to do, tossed his comm link to Mag. He withdrew his blaster and yelled "For the Republic!" The doors slid shut.

Mag rushed up and slammed her hands on the door. Her head was spinning from both the situation and the loss of blood. She couldn't remember anyone sacrificing themselves for her before and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Taking a deep breath, she collected her thoughts. To keep Trask's sacrifice from being in vain, she started moving towards the escape pods.

"Trask, come in. This is Commander Onasi.

She gulped and waited a moment to reply. "Uh, Commander, this is Mag Tertra. Trask, uh, well, Trask is dead. It is just me now."

There was a brief period of silence. "That's a shame, Trask was a good soldier. I was calling to warn you that two rooms down, there is a group of Sith soldiers. Five in total. You could try going around, but I don't think that you have enough time. The ship is barely hanging on."

"Well, Commander, I'm not really in shape to fight off five Sith by myself. I figure out something."

Mag ended the call and walked as quietly as she could to the next room. The pain in her head and in her side was getting close to unbearable. She took a deep breath to try and clear the fog in her brain. It only helped a little.

She took a cursory glance around the room, searching for something that she could use to help her fight off the Sith soldiers. Mag spotted a broken droid in the corner. She pulled off the panel covering its mechanisms, but quickly determined it was too damaged for her to repair on the fly.

Then, Mag spotted the computer in the middle of the room. First, she hacked into the video feed and saw the five sith soldiers in their metallic armor. "Perfect." She muttered to herself.

Next, she sliced her way into the ship's electronic mainframe and rerouted all of the electricity into the conduit into the room next door. Quickly, she switched back to the video feed. Mag watched with relief as the conduit exploded and electrocuted the Sith. All five dropped dead.

She moved quickly into the next room, pausing briefly to check their pockets for extra med packs and credits. When Mag finally reached Carth, he raised an eyebrow. "Geez, you weren't kidding about not being in good shape. We've got to get going, into the pod."

He waited for Mag to crawl in before entering the pod himself. His knee accidently bumped into the launch button and barely had time to buckle himself in. When Carth glanced at Mag, he noticed that she was struggling to buckle herself in because it was jammed. He moved to help her, but his own belt held him tight. As they entered the atmosphere, she was forced out of her seat and hit her already injured head on the instrument panel. Feeling helpless, Carth could only think that it was a lousy way to die.


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Carth was thankful that the escape pod crashed into a street on the night side of the planet. The darkness combined with the chaos of the crash allowed him to pull his unconscious companion from the wreckage and find a safe place for them to hide.

He attempted to move far into the city and away from the crash site, but stopped because he heard Mag's breathing get continually more shallow. Carth spotted a sign that advertised a clinic about half a kilometer away and decided to head towards it.

When he reached the entrance, a worried attendant quickly rushed them into a back room. Carth gently laid Mag onto the examination table and waited for a doctor to come in.

Moments later, there was a knock on the door. A middle-aged man with dark skin and grey hair introduced himself as Dr. Zelka Forn. "What exactly happened to your friend here? Could you show me where she is injured? There is a lot of blood."

Carth was thankful that the doctor didn't ask any questions that didn't pertain to Mag's injuries. "She, was uh, hit by some flying debris from the escape pods that just crashed into the city."

The doctor raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Carth ran a hand through his hair, he had never been good at lying on the spot. He continued. "She hit her head hard and there is also a long cut across her abdomen."

Walking over to the counter, Dr. Forn nodded and grabbed a pair of medical shears and began cutting Mag's shirt away. Carth almost gasped out loud when he saw the maze of scars that criss-crossed across her torso. What kind of life had she led before joining Bastila's crew as a mere translator?

He watched as the doctor cleaned the dried blood away. After a career in the military, it took a lot more gore to faze him. "Thankfully, it looks a lot worse than it actually is. It's not much more than a cut and it doesn't appear to be caused by a poisoned blade. I'm going to stitch it up and apply a kolto bandage just to be safe."

With his skilled hands, it only took a couple of minutes to finish attending to the cut. After he was done, he washed his hands and proceeded to examine the one on her head. He moved her matted hair and pulled out a flashlight. When the light clicked on, he tsked and began mumbling to himself. Carth asked what was wrong, but Dr. Forn ignored him. He walked over to the intercom on the wall. "Guerney, please get the imaging apparatus and bring it to room three. Thank you."

Dr. Forn turned to Carth and said, "It appears that your friend here hit her head quite hard. I would like to take a look at her brain and make sure that there is no damage."

Carth nodded and watched as the assistant brought in large machine and helped Dr. Forn arranged the imaging scope by Mag's head. He became worried when the doctor got a puzzled look on his face. "What is it, sir?"

Forn shook his head. "I've never seen a brain like this before. It was damaged in the past, but somehow put back together, almost like a puzzle. It is quite strange."

Carth pushed away his paranoia and asked if Mag was going to be okay. "I'm not entirely sure. I will clean it up, but to be honest, we will just have to wait until she wakes up to see."

He nodded and took a seat as the doctor set about his work. "Now, you should be warned that there is no telling what her memory will be like when she wakes up. Be gentle and when she does wake up, please bring her back to the clinic right away."

The doctor continued. "Now, I have a friend who owns an apartment complex just south of here. They aren't the nicest of places, but it will be a safe place to recover."

He wrote the address and the name of the manager on a piece of paper and handed it to Carth. "If you tell him that Zelka sent you, I'm sure he will give a deal."

Carth moved to shake Dr. Forn's hand. "I can't thank you enough for all you have done for us. I only have a few credits on me, but as soon as I have the money, I will pay you everything we owe for the treatment."

Dr. Forn waved his hand. "That is quite alright. We can discuss payment when you bring the young lady back to me. I never charge people more than they could afford."

Carth was touched by the kindness. He shook the doctor's hand again and moved to pick up Mag. Thankfully, she was light and the apartment complex wasn't too far. Dr. Forn escorted them out one of the back doors. "Take this alley and you should reach the apartment in no time. And, there will be a slim chance you will be seen by anyone who cares."

He walked as fast as he could to the apartment without jarring Mag too much. When he reached the complex, he found the manager and was quickly showing to a dingy apartment. The door didn't lock, it smelled of mildew, and the rent was ridiculous. Knowing that he had no other options, Carth paid up and set up Mag in the bedroom.

After rewiring the door so that it could lock securely, Carth went through the small satchel that Mag had managed to escape the Endar Spire with. Inside as a datapad, a small purse with a couple hundred credits in it, miscellaneous medical supplies, and some grenades. He tried to read the datapad, but it was heavily encrypted. Sighing, he pulled a stim out of his jacket pocket and injected himself. There was no telling when she would wake up.

**Eighteen Hours Later**

Her nightmares were terrible. Ever since Carth had laid her down on the bed, she had been thrashing around and moaning. He had tried to wake her up, but to no avail. He could only hope that she would wake up soon because he wasn't sure how many more stims his body could take.

Thirty minutes after taking his last stim, Carth noticed a change in Mag's sleeping patterns. She got oddly silent. As he walked over, she started whimpering and sobbing. Worried, he sat on the edge of her bed, but was unsure of how to proceed.

That problem was suddenly solved when Mag shot up, wide awake. Before Carth could react, she reached over an unholstered his blaster. Pointing it directly at his face, she shouted, "Who the hell are you? I swear, if you are a Sith, I will pull this trigger faster than you can say Sithspit!"

She caught the look of surprise on his face, but still didn't lower the weapon. "Woah, hold on. If I were a Sith, I would have killed you already. I wouldn't have carried you up here and made sure you were safe. Don't you remember who I am?"

Mag paused for a brief moment and Carth was relieved when she handed his blaster back to him. "I apologize. You're Commander Onasi, right?"

He looked alarmed. "Mag, are you alright? You should know who I am! We met yesterday on the Endar Spire. We ran into each other, quite literally, in the hallway? Do you remember anything?"

She blinked a few times and then she shut her eyes tightly. "Uh, your name is Carth, we were on a ship together, there was a battle, and then there was an escape pod. Other than that, I've basically got nothing."

Carth stared at her for just a moment too long. _"Force, he's paranoid." _Mag thought to herself.

"Your memory problems probably have something to do with that nasty bump on your head."

"What, OW!" Mag said as she gingerly touched her head.

Suppressing the urge to laugh, Carth stood up and offered Mag his hand. "That's my cue. We're going back to the doctor."

Mag crossed her hands over her chest. "Not until I have had a nice, long, hot, shower."

"Good luck with that, so far it's only been ice cold water." He smirked.

Carth heard what he thought was a Rodian curse as she stomped off towards the fresher. He shook his head; he had a feeling that she was going to be a handful. The thing was, Carth wasn't so sure that he minded.

An hour later, Mag emerged from the fresher. Although the water had been cold, it had felt nice to get the dried blood and sweat off of her body. When she entered the living room, she was surprised to find Carth dozing on the couch.

Mag tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey flyboy, wake up. We apparently have a doctor's appointment?"

He awoke with a start. "Uh, sorry. I haven't slept since the night before the battle."

"What?"

"Well, somebody had to keep watch while you were out cold." he said while rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Mag nodded. "You have a point. You really should get some rest. We are stranded here and we both need to be on the top of our game if we are going to ever get off this rock."

He brushed her concern aside. "I'll be fine. It's more important that we get you back to Dr. Forn and then start searching for Bastila."

"Hold up, Bastila? I may not remember much, but I do remember her. She is a spoiled Jedi princess. I'm sure she has already figured a way off this rock!" Mag exclaimed.

"Geez, that bump on your head did more damage than I thought." Carth said, although he had to agree with the princess part.

He continued, hoping to appeal to her patriotic side. "Spoiled or not, she is the key to the entire war effort. We have to find her or at least make sure she is safe."

She was quiet for a moment and then sighed. "Alright fine, you got me. I'll help. But, let's be clear: I'm doing this for you, not her."

"Me?"

'Well, yeah. You saved my life and all. I don't take that lightly."

Carth was surprised, but he figured a yes was a yes. "Thank you, Mag. Now, let's get you to the doctor and then we can hit the cantina for some food."

Mag shook her head. "No, not until you at least get a couple of hours of sleep. I can't have you running on empty while you are supposed to be watching my back."

He rolled his eyes, but knew that it was pointless to argue with her. "Fine, but wake me up in two hours."

She nodded and watched him plod off towards the bedroom. Pleased that she had won, Mag sat down on the couch and began organizing the contents of her pack.

**Six Hours Later**

Mag felt a hand touch her on the shoulder and she immediately leapt off the couch and onto her feet. She was reaching for her vibroblade when she saw that it was Carth. She swore in a language that Carth couldn't identify. "Force, Carth. I could have stabbed you or something!"

He chuckled. "Hardly. Nice job keeping watch and waking me up."

She shrugged her shoulders sheepishly. "You clearly needed the sleep."

Carth rolled his eyes while grabbing his hideous orange jacket off of a nearby chair. "Let's get going."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes back at his evident irritation. It wasn't her fault that they both needed to catch up on their sleep. Mag grabbed her coat and followed Carth out of their apartment.

Just as they exited, the duo encountered a group of Sith interrogating two aliens. Carth held up his arm to stop Mag, but it was too late. "Humans hiding out with aliens? They must be Republic fugitives!"

Luckily for Carth and Mag, the Sith weren't very skilled and the skirmish was over almost as quickly as it started. After making sure that the one surviving alien was alright, they continued on their way to the clinic. They walked in silence, but eventually it was too much for Mag. "So Commander…"

"Call me Carth."

"Okay, Carth. I want to know more about you. We're probably going to be stuck on this rock together for a while, we might as well get to know each other."

He turned to face her, the look of surprise badly disguised. "Me?

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, you, flyboy."

Carth tried to glare at her, but when he saw the genuinely interested look on her face, he stopped himself. He ran his hand through his hair and started. "Uh, I've been a pilot for twenty years. I fought in the Mandalorian Wars before this one. I thought the Mandalorians were bad, but the Sith are even worse. They kill senselessly, like on…" he caught himself.

"Like on what, Carth?"

Realizing that he had said so much, Carth had to continue. "Like on Telos. My homeworld was bombed into submission. It was one of the first to go and there was absolutely nothing the Republic could do about it!"

There were a few minutes of awkward silence until Carth worked up the nerve to look at his companion. "Yes?" she asked when she noticed his gaze.

"People usually say something, that's all."

She nodded and shrugged her shoulders, not entirely sure how to respond to this revelation. "It wasn't your fault, Carth. There wasn't anything you could have done."

Surprised, Carth responded, his voice steady with anger. "I never said it was my fault. I did everything I possibly could to stop it!"

Mag's eyes grew wide with shock, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she looked straight ahead and continued walking to the doctor's office in silence.

A few minutes later, they reached the doctor's office. They walked through the sliding doors and Carth asked the assistant if they could see Dr. Forn. The man told that them the doctor was available and escorted them to an exam room. "The doctor will be with you in just a few minutes."

The assistant exited the room, leaving Mag and Carth to sit in their awkward silence. Both wanted to say something, but neither knew how to start after the way the previous conversation had ended.

Luckily, Dr. Forn entered the room. "Ahh, I'm glad to see you up and moving around."

Mag smiled. "Yeah, me too."

The doctor chuckled and began performing his examination. After a few minutes and the application of some kolto, Dr. Form declared that Mag was going to be okay, but take it easy. "I'm not sure if the memory problems will resolve itself, but it is possible. Head injuries are tricky."

Although she was sad about her memory, Mag was thankful that she was it good health otherwise. Carth paid the doctor and the two exited the medical building. "You know, it might be good to try and get some information at the cantina. The alcohol will make lips looser and all."

Carth nodded, but didn't say anything. He felt bad for his outburst earlier, but he didn't know if there was any way for him to save face.

They entered the cantina and Mag wandered off in the direction of the bar. Carth attempted to follow her, but she stopped him. "Where do you think you are going, flyboy?"

"With you, obviously."

She shook her head. "Oh no you don't. I'll never get any information with you following me around. Go play Pazaak and see if you can win us some credits."

As she walked off, Carth thought to himself, _"What in the hell did she mean by that?"_

Still confused, he made his way over to the Pazaak table closest to the bar. Just because she wouldn't let him go with her, didn't mean he wasn't going to keep an eye on her. Even though she seemed well intentioned, Carth didn't trust her as far as he could throw her.

After three hands of cards, it finally dawned on Carth what Mag had meant. Several men had approached her, but she had either waved them off or ignored them completely. One of the players followed Carth's gaze. "You've got good taste, man. After I clean you out of all your credits, I think I'll take a crack at her."

The look that Carth shot him quickly caused the man to shut up and they resumed playing the game.

Mag was getting extremely irritated. The only men that had approached her so far were spoiled Tarisian nobles with breath that reeked of ale. Just as she was about to get up and fetch Carth, a young Sith officer walked over. "Hey, I saw your drink was empty, so I took the liberty of getting you another."

She noticed his uniform right off the bat and gave him her most brilliant smile. "Thank you."

He blushed. "Don't mention it. My name is Yun. What is yours?"

"I'm Amaria." Mag said, figuring her middle name was a lot safer than her actual name. It was possible that the Sith had found a flight manifest among the wreckage and would know the names of the crew of the Endar Spire.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Amaria. You know, I'm pretty curious. What is a pretty thing like you doing on a scuzzy planet like this?"

Although all Mag wanted to do was roll her eyes and tell Yun to get lost, she gave him a slow smile. "Well, I got stranded with the quarantine. But, to be honest, I do feel a lot safer since the Sith took over control."

Yun's flush deepened. "You really think so? I honestly think you are the first person to say that."

"Oh sure. With all of the soldiers around, people think twice of harassing a girl." Mag purred. She reached over and ran her hand along his arm.

Yun gulped visibly and Mag did her best not to smile to herself. "Hey, look. A booth just opened up. Let's go sit over there." She said while grabbing his arm.

Carth had been watching the scene unfold and he didn't like it one bit. So, he cashed out of the game and walked over to the booth. When he arrived, Mag was leaning heavily against the young Sith officer and whispering something in his ear. Suddenly, the man casually brushed his hand across Mag's breasts. Carth decided that enough was enough. He cleared his throat loudly and slid into the booth across from them.

Carefully, so that Yun wouldn't see, Mag shot Carth a venomous look. He shot one back at her and refused to budge. Yun, upset that his moment had been ruined, demanded to know who this intruder was. "Don't worry about him, Yun. He is somebody my father pays to keep an eye on me. But, I pay him to keep quiet. This quarantine can be quite boring at times." Mag said, raising one of her eyebrows seductively.

Yun seemed satisfied with Mag's answer. He moved to grope Mag again, but was interrupted by another person joining their booth. This time, it was a pretty, blonde, Sith officer. "Hey Yun, who are your new friends?"

"Good to see you Sarna. This is my new friend Amaria and her bodyguard."

Sarna smiled at Mag and slid closer to Carth. "Wow, Amaria. Aren't you lucky to have this man guarding you?"

Carth smiled at Sarna, which was a terrible idea. Turns out, she was just as handsy as Yun. Mag almost burst out laughing when she saw Sarna's hand slip underneath the table and Carth visibly flinch. Things were getting heated and neither Carth, nor Mag, knew how to back out gracefully.

Thankfully, they didn't have to. Yun caught sight of a clock and jumped up. "Sarna, if we don't get moving now, we are going to be late for our shift on base!"

Sarna swore and moved towards the door. Yun turned to Mag. "Hey, a bunch of us are having a party after work tonight. I would really like it if you came."

Mag told him that she would love to come. Yun entered the address into her datapad. Then, he and Sarna dashed out of the cantina. As soon as the two Sith were out of earshot, Mag leaned her head back and let out a long sigh of relief. "Force, I'm glad those two are gone. That was a nightmare and a half."

Carth nodded, but couldn't find the words to reply. Mag snickered a little, knowing exactly what moment he was trying to forget. He gave her an annoyed look. To avoid any more awkwardness, she quickly changed the subject. "So, flyboy, how many credits did you win at the tables?"

"Eh, about 200."

"Not bad, that should be enough to get us some new clothes for tonight."

Carth gave Mag a surprised look. "New clothes? At a time like this? You have got to be kidding me! And honestly, you can't be considering going to that party! That place is going to be crawling with Sith!"

"Exactly! Yun and Sarna may only be junior officers, but they will still have uniforms. We snag a couple of those and we basically have a free reign of the planet."

Although he didn't want to admit it, she had a point. "But why the clothes?"

Mag ran her hands through her hair. "Geez, flyboy. You are such a man! You don't honestly think we can show up to a party in these clothes? They are disgusting from, well, you know what from." She was careful not to give too many details, lest someone overhear them. 

"Besides," she continued, "we need something to replace that revolting jacket of yours."

Carth crossed his arms protectively across his chest and pouted. "I happen to like this jacket."

Mag smirked at him. "Yeah, it's nice. If you like something the color of bantha vomit."

They were saved from further argument when a waitress stopped by and asked if they wanted to order anything. Both ordered food and a stiff drink. It wasn't the best tasting fare, but it was hearty. Mag and Carth ate hungrily, neither talking. Finally, Mag pushed her plate back. "Well, that wasn't horrible. But it wasn't good either. At least the drinks are strong."

Carth couldn't have agreed more. Nonetheless, it was nice that they had been able to eat. Mag tossed back the rest of her drink. "Alright, flyboy. Time to get going! We have shopping to do!"

A few hours later, Carth found himself sitting on the couch in their living room. He tugged on the sleeve on the new black jacket that Mag had made him buy. As much as he hated to admit it, he actually liked the garment. Though, the orange flight jacket would always be his favorite. However, he did not like the shirt that Mag had insisted went with the coat. It made him feel stupid and it itched. He contemplated sneaking into the bedroom and switching it out when the fresher door opened.

Mag stepped out wearing the dark red tunic and black leggings that she had picked out. It was low-cut and fit her hips snuggly. She had taken her hair out of her normal braid and it fanned out in waves down her back. "So, what do you think? Is it okay?

It took Carth just a second too long to respond. "You look, uh, great, Mag."

Despite herself, Mag felt her cheeks heat up. "Thank you. You look nice too. I'm glad you ended up buying the jacket."

Carth chuckled to cover up his embarrassment. He didn't want Mag to see that he was blushing from her compliment. "As if I had a choice! You refused to let me leave the store without it!"

"I guess that's true. By the way, Carth, I am really glad that you are coming to the party tonight."

He looked up at her in surprise. Carth had figured that she wouldn't be too happy about him tagging along after the look she gave him at the cantina earlier that day. "Why is that?"

Mag hesitated for a moment. "Well, you saw him at the cantina. He had a hard time keeping his hands to himself. I'm nervous about what he will do when he has been drinking and around his buddies. I mean, I can take care of myself and all, but I'm glad that I'll have you as back up."

Carth raised one eyebrow. "You know, just when I think I have you all figured out, you say something like that and confuse the hell out of me. Despite that, I do have your back. Promise."

She returned his smile and said, "You and me both, flyboy."

The two of them made sure that they had a few weapons tucked away and headed out the door. They wandered through the streets of the Upper City, getting turned around a couple of times. So, when they finally found the apartment, the party was in full swing.

When Carth pushed up the door, the smell of sweat mixed with Tarisan ale hit the pair like a slap in the face. It was utterly disgusting. Mag looked up at Carth, gave him a shaky grin, and went off to join the party. Waiting a few minutes so that they wouldn't be seen together, Carth followed her into the crowd.

The next twenty minutes seemed like the longest of Carth's life. The constant toasts the Sith soldiers were making to their victory in war was making him uncomfortable and irritated. And then there was Mag. Her incessant flirting and drinking were starting to wear his nerves thin. He had just about had it when she approached him. She grabbed his arm and pulled him into a dark corner.

"Carth, listen. I'm going to challenge that big Sith over there to a drinking game. His uniform looks like it should be able to fit you. When he passes out, offer to carry him to one of the bedrooms so that he can sleep it off. While you're back there, try and find one for me."

He blinked, but didn't say anything. To be honest, he was in shock by her plan. It didn't seem possible that it could actually work. This irritated Mag and she snipply said, "Did I stutter, flyboy?"

Carth snapped back at her. "How are you still sober? I've watched you down a couple of bottles since we got here."

"Long story, I'll explain tomorrow. Please, just do it. This may be our only chance."

Before he could respond, Mag dashed off to find the man she intended to challenge. Carth shook his head; she was insane. There was no way she'd be able to drink him under the table. Regardless, he didn't really have a choice. He had to follow her because it was the only plan that they had.

He pushed his way through the crowd that was forming around the kitchen table. Mag was seated at one end, while a man was at the other. She was right, he was about the same size as him, so the uniform would probably fit.

In the center of the table, there were a couple of bottles of alcohol that Carth couldn't quite identify. But, even from his vantage point, he could smell their potency. Mag stared the man directly in the eye, and said, "Pick your poison."

The man chuckled and reached for one of the bottles. He took the top off and poured out three shots for Mag and three shots for himself. "Ladies first."

Mag smiled and easily drank the first shot. She flipped the glass upside down and set it at the table. Then, she looked up at her opponent. The Man cockily tossed all of his shots in a row. Mag copied him without blinking an eye. Hesitating for only the slightest of moments, the Sith poured out three more shots for each of them.

This process continued for a quite some time. The pair had finished off the first bottle of liquor and were currently working on the second. Carth was getting nervous and frankly couldn't believe that Mag had been able to consume this much alcohol. Finally, the Sith collapsed face first on the table. He was out cold. There was a triumphant cheer and one of the onlookers lifted Mag's arm above her head. After a few minutes of clapping, the drunken crowd got bored and dispersed to find entertainment elsewhere.

When this happened, Carth put Mag's plan into action. He casually strolled over to the man, put his arm around his own shoulder, and half carried, half dragged him to one of the bedrooms in the back of the apartment. He not so gently tossed the Sith on the bed and began awkwardly removing his uniform. Carth couldn't help but to chuckle to himself. Never in a million light years did he think he would be undressing a Sith.

After digging around for a little bit, Carth found an empty duffel bag and shoved the uniform into it. He then walked to the closet and looked for a uniform that would fit Mag. It was difficult because of her height, but after several minutes of searching, Carth finally found one that was short enough. He put it in the duffel bag, threw it over his shoulder, and walked out of the bedroom and find Mag.

As he exited the room, Carth couldn't find Mag. After a few frantic minutes of scanning with his eyes, he finally heard her voice. "Yun, stop it! Not now!"

"But c'mon sweetheart. Just one little kiss?"

"NO!"

Carth rushed over and found that Yun had cornered her. He grabbed the young Sith by his shoulder and pulled him off Mag. "Get your hands off of her!" Carth growled.

Yun did not take this suggestion kindly. He punched Carth in the face. However, there wasn't much power behind it and he was able to shake it off. But, that didn't mean Carth didn't retaliate. He landed a right hook on Yun's jaw and the Sith hit the floor. He was unconscious. Carth grabbed Mag's hand and pulled her to the door. "Let's get out of here."

It took them a while to get back to their apartment. It wasn't just because of the winding back streets of Taris. The amount of alcohol that Mag had drank had finally caught up with her. She was giggly and kept tripping over her own feet. "Carth, stop walking so fast." she stuttered.

Carth stopped and turned to look at her. "I'm not walking too fast. We have to keep moving. We don't want to be caught out here."

He grasped her arm, gently, yet firmly. "C'mon gorgeous."

Mag started giggling. "Awww, that is so sweet, flyboy. I think that deserves a kiss."

She stood up on her tip toes and leaned forward. But, she lost her balanced and toppled to the ground. Carth chuckled and bent down next to her. He placed one of her arms around her shoulders and his arm underneath her knees. He stood up, making sure that he had a good grip.

By the time he made it back to their apartment, Mag was sound asleep. Carth shook the duffel bag from his shoulder and placed her carefully onto one of the beds, taking care not to wake her. He sat down on the edge of the other bed and unlaced his boots. After kicking them off, Carth walked into the fresher to examine his hand. It was bruised and was crusted with blood. He wasn't sure if it was his or Yun's. Either way, he knew it would cause questions in the morning. After scrubbing the blood off, he looked at his face in the mirror. There was another bruise forming on his jaw where Yun had landed his punch. Sighing, Carth walked back over to his bed and quickly fell asleep.


	4. Chapter Three

The next morning, Carth woke up before Mag and went into the kitchen to make them breakfast. About ten minutes later, he heard Mag get up and walk into the fresher. Carth was not looking forward to dealing with her hangover.

When he had finished cooking, he set the two plates of food on the table. For good measure, he put a couple of pain killers next to Mag's glass. Just as he was sitting down, she came out the bathroom with her wet, black hair, dripping down her back.

She spotted the food and said, "So you can cook and fly a ship, I might have to keep you around, flyboy."

Carth chuckled. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Ugh. Like hell. Hopefully this and the pain killers will fix me up before we head to the Lower City. By the way, I didn't do anything too embarrassing last night, did I? The details are kinda fuzzy after the drinking contest was over."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Nah, you were fine."

Mag let out a sigh of relief and glanced down at her plate. As she did so, she caught sight of a large bruise on Carth's hand. "Where'd you get that?"

Quickly sliding his hand underneath of the table and out of view, he replied. "It's nothing, honestly?"

She stood up, walked over to the other side of the table, and grabbed his arm. "Let me see."

With reluctance, Carth lifted up his hand and she grasped it. "It's not a big deal, honestly. Doesn't even really hurt. Yun was bothering you last night. I made sure he stopped, end of story."

"Did he do this to you too?" Mag asked, gently touching the bruise on his jaw.

Carth nodded, but didn't say anything. It felt strange to have her touching his face. "Well, thank you. I appreciate it." she said softly.

Swallowing, he said, "Anytime, Mag."

The two ate the rest of their breakfast in silence. The awkward, yet tender moment had created some tension and neither one of them wanted to discuss it or figure out how to respond to it. After Mag finished drinking her third glass of water, she pushed her chair back from the table. "Where are the uniforms? We should head out soon."

Carth nodded in agreement and told her that the duffel bag was on the floor in their bedroom. He followed her in there and helped her assemble the two sets of uniforms. Taking his to the living room to change, Carth felt disgusted as he put on each piece of clothing. He believed in the Republic to the deepest core of his being and he couldn't help but to feel as if he was betraying the cause. It took a lot of self-convincing to make him feel okay. After all, he was only doing this to help find Bastila.

It took a while longer for Mag to get ready. So, Carth sat down on the couch and waited for her. Twenty minutes later, she emerged from their bedroom. "Well, flyboy, you actually did a decent job of finding me a uniform that fit. The legs are a little long, but the boots cover that up."

He glanced over and had to do a double take. She had pulled her hair back into a severe bun that sat on the nape of her neck. Mag had also put on a significant amount of makeup including a dark red lipstick. The transformation was shocking. Gone was Mag Tetra, here was a Sith officer.

It took a moment for Carth to adjust to Mag's new look. Finally, he stood up. "Let's head out. Who knows how long it will take for us to explore the Lower City."

Mag nodded and grabbed her back. She followed Carth out the front door and into the elevator. When the doors slid shut, he turned to her. "To be honest, Mag, you look kind of scary. I wouldn't want to mess with you."

She started laughing. "I don't know if I should thank you or not."

When they walked out of the building and onto the street, the pair immediately noticed a difference in the way people treated them. Under normal circumstances, most of the citizens of the Upper City blatantly ignored them. But now, they either nodded in respect of made a conscious effort to give them a wide berth.

This unnerved Mag and she was nervous about trying to get past the elevator guard. She and Carth had seen people trying to get past him and he was a stickler for protocol. Right before they approached the guard, Mag turned to Carth. "You mind taking the lead on this one? I'm not as good at sounding like a soldier."

He nodded and lead the way. The guard took one look at their uniforms and said, "Another patrol? Things are getting bad down there."

"That's right. We are being sent down as back-up."

The guard shook his head but didn't say anything. He pressed the button to unlock the elevator doors. They slid open and the pair moved to step into the elevator. As Mag followed Carth, she could feel the guard's gaze piercing her from behind. The moment the door slid shut, she turned to Carth. "I think he was suspicious. What if he calls someone down in the Lower City and they find us down there?"

Carth couldn't help but to chuckle to himself. "I don't think he was suspicious. I, uh, I think he was checking you out. Your pants, they're, uh, a little, uh…" He started to blush.

Mag raised an eyebrow. "My pants are a little what, flyboy?"

His face turned even more red. "Never mind."

She took a few steps closer to him and smirked. "Tell me."

"They're a little, uh, form-fitting."

Now it was Mag's turn to flush. "You could have told me before we left the apartment."

Carth smirked this time. "It didn't bother me."

For the rest of the elevator ride there was an awkward silence between Carth and Mag. So, both of them were relieved when the elevator finally slowed to a halt. A metallic voice announced that they had reached the Lower City. They exited the elevator and quickly slipped into a dark corner. Mag began pulling her uniform jacket off. "We need to get out of these uniforms as quickly as possible. They are like giant targets." she said.

Carth agreed and began to take off his coat as well. Once they had stowed the uniforms in their bags, they began exploring the Lower City. It was markedly different from the city above them. It was dingy, dark, and had a horrid smell lingering in the air. It was a combination of sweat, blood, and rot. Mag wrinkled her nose in disgust. The sooner they found out what happened to Bastila, the better.

They were walking along when suddenly Mag stopped and placed her hand on the vibroblade at her hip. Carth turned to her. "What is it?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure, but something just doesn't feel right. Get your blasters ready."

He wasn't sure what she meant but listened to her anyway. They walked slowly with caution until a group of aliens stopped them in their path. "Oh, upworlders. Looks like it's your lucky day. We're going to show you how things work down here in the Lower City. We are the Black Vulkars and we are in charge here." one of them sneered.

Before she could react, the Vulkar nearest to her jabbed her in the side with some sort of glowing stick. She yelped in pain and hit the ground. Swearing, Mag shakily stood up and started fighting with her vibroblade. Carth covered her with his blasters while she spun and parried her way through the Vulkars.

They were outnumbered and Carth wasn't sure they could just fight their way out of the mess. Just a few moments later, more people showed up. He panicked, but to his surprise, they began helping him and Mag fight off the Black Vulkars.

After several more minutes of fighting, all of the Vulkars were either dead or had scampered off into the shadows. When Mag turned to thank their allies, she was surprised to find that they had all disappeared as well. "That's weird, they are all gone. You alright, flyboy?"

Carth nodded. "Just a few scrapes and scratches, nothing too serious. What about you? That stun baton got you pretty good."

She pressed her hand to her side. "Yeah, it sure did. It hurts where he hit me, but otherwise I'm alright. Well, except the fact where my leg is kind of numb."

He raised an eyebrow and was about to voice his concern, but she beat him to it. "Really, I'm fine. It should be okay once the effects of the electricity wear off. If it makes you feel better, I'll stick a kolto patch where that Vulkar stuck me."

"It would make me feel better. Can't have you collapsing on me while we are exploring."

Mag nodded. "Give me a second and then we can head over to the cantina. I could use some lunch and I'll bet we can find out more information about the gang war we just found ourselves in the middle of."

After Mag patched herself, they walked around the Lower City looking for the cantina. This time, they did not put their weapons away. It was too dangerous to be caught unawares. As it turned out, the cantina was close to where their skirmish had taken place. They walked in, found a booth, and ordered food from a tired looking waitress. Carth was about to ask Mag how her side was doing when the cantina became eerily quiet.

A short man wearing a blue jacket and a strange, white hat, had entered the room. Two aliens approached him and began speaking. Carth couldn't understand the language, but Mag was able to translate. Essentially, they were mocking the man's stature. All he had to say in return was, "One."

Mag swore under her breath in the same language that the aliens were speaking. "Carth, I'm pretty sure that that man is Calo Nord. You know, the infamous bounty hunter. If the rumors are true, then those two aliens don't have long to live."

Instinctively, Carth placed his hand on his blaster. He noticed that Mag did the same with her vibroblade. Neither wanted a brawl to break out but wanted to be prepared just in case.

The aliens were still harassing Calo. Again, his reply was only one word. "Two."

Mag rolled her eyes. "Geez, these two are stupider than they look."

Clearly, they wanted to get a rise out of Calo. When it didn't seem to succeed, they tried even harder. Finally, he uttered one last word. "Three."

Suddenly, a small bomb appeared on the floor. Mag barely had time to blink before it went off. Billowing smoke filled the room. Then, she heard two quick shots. When the smoke finally cleared, Calo Nord was gone and the two aliens were laying dead on the floor.

The locals were clearly used open displays of violence because the silence only lasted for a moment after the dead aliens were seen. Some of the braver patrons even stepped forwards to loot the bodies. Carth let out a low whistle. "Rough neighborhood."

Carth nodded in agreement and was about to reply when there was another disturbance.

"I told you to leave me alone, so back off and give me some space, bug eyes!" a teenage blue Twi'lek yelled at two Rodians.

Mag spun around so that she could see who was arguing. While doing so, she casually placed her back-up blaster on the table. She was pleased to see that Carth had had the same idea.

"Little girl should not be in the bar, especially a pretty girl. You know what you would fetch on the market…." The larger of the two Rodians said while taking a menacing step forward.

Mag stood up, but the Twi'lek girl just laughed. "Zaalbar, could I get a little help over here?"

Both Mag and Carth were astonished to see a large, auburn-furred Wookie replying. "But, Mission, the waitress just brought out my food."

The girl rolled her eyes. "It'll just take a few seconds. Besides, you could use the exercise."

There was a loud groan, or possibly a growl, Mag wasn't entirely sure, and the Wookie came lumbering over. The Rodians took a few steps back and stuttered. "We don't want any trouble with the Wookie. Our problem is with you, little girl."

The Wookie let a deep growl escape from his throat and the two Rodians scurried off to get lost in the cantina crowd. The Twi'lek noticed that Mag and Carth had placed their weapons on the table and came strolling over. "Thanks for that. I don't recognize you two and I know pretty much everyone in the Lower City. So I guess that makes Big Z and I are your official welcoming committee! My name is Mission Vao." she said while sitting herself down at the booth next to Mag.

Mag took an instant liking to the girl. Her spunk was infectious and refreshing. "You showed a lot of guts back there, Mission. Staring down those two, nasty Rodians."

Mission waved the compliment aside. "Bah, those guys were just dumb Vulkars. Besides, with Zaalbar at my side, they leave me alone most of the time."

At this point, Carth jumped into the conversation. "How exactly did you two hook up? I mean, it's not every day you find a Wookie outside of Kashyyyk."

The girl shrugged. "Just kind of happened. Between his size and menacing claws and my street smarts and sass, we make a good pair. It isn't easy living down here."

"Seems like a good arrangement." Mag said.

Mission nodded. "It is. Now, can I tell you anything about the Lower City? I would offer to give you guys a tour, but with the gang war, things outside are a little dicey."

"Yeah, we noticed that. As soon as we got off the elevator from the Lower City, we were attacked." Carth informed her.

Mission shook her head. "That was probably the Black Vulkars. Ever since Brejak took over, they have become out of control."

Although at first, Carth had had his reservations, he decided that he and Mag had been quite lucky to encounter Mission. She seemed to know all the details about the Lower City. "So, Mission, have you heard about any escape pods landing down here?"

The girl's eyes narrowed. "Oh, so you guys are some of those treasure hunters, huh? Looking to score some loot from the pods?"

Mag shook her head, worried that Carth had offended her somehow. "No, it's not like that at all! I promise. It's just that one of my dear friends was on that ship and I was just hoping that she was one of the lucky few to have made it off alive."

The girl's eyes searched Carth and Mag's faces with the well-honed skills of a street kid. When she only saw sincere looks, Mission visibly relaxed and smiled at them. "Two of the pods went down in the Undercity. Other than that, I don't know much. Scavengers, Sith, and some gang members all went down there to investigate and loot. I'll bet if you head over to the Hidden Bek base, someone would be able to give you more information."

Mag and Carth were thrilled by this lead. It was the closest they had come to finding Bastila since crash landing on the planet. She pulled her datapad from her satchel and asked Mission to input the address of the Bek base into it. "Here you go. Make sure you talk to Gadon Thek. He is the leader of the gang and he knows me and Big Z. If you mention our names, he will give you any information he has. If anyone down here can help you find your friend, it's him!"

They thanked Mission for her help, left some credits on the table for their meals, and headed towards the exit. After awkwardly stepping over the dead bodies that Calo Nord had left behind, they left the cantina and headed towards the address that Mission had given them.

Since they had to walk for a while to get to the Hidden Bek base, Mag figured it would be a good time to talk more with Carth. Despite the fact that they had been spending a lot of time together, he remained an enigma to her. "Hey flyboy, is this a good time to ask you some more questions?"

Surprisingly, he raised an eyebrow flirtatiously. "I'm all ears, beautiful."

Despite herself, Mag felt herself blush. So, she decided to throw it back at him. "I like the sound of that."

Carth wasn't expecting that retort; his goal had been to distract her. "Which part? The fact that I'm all ears? Or the beautiful comment?"

She decided to call him out on his game. "Carth, are you flirting with me?"

"Nah, not really. Just a habit. Is there something else you would rather I called you?" Carth said, even though a part of him was lying about not flirting with her.

"How about gorgeous? I like the sound of that better." she said, wondering if he would take the bait."

Apparently, she didn't remember him calling her that while she was drunk after the party. Initially, it had been a slip of his tongue, but for some reason, Carth felt that it fit her personality. "Alright, but only if you call me something in return."

Mag rolled her eyes. "How about handsome thug?"

He started laughing. "Well, I'm partial to the first part. But only when it is a part of 'the most handsome pilot in the galaxy'."

She couldn't help but to roll her eyes again. "You are such a lobotomized Gammorrean, Carth."

Now Carth started cackling. "Ouch. I think you hurt my man feelings with that one. I'll bet beautiful doesn't sound so bad in comparison now, does it?"

Mag chuckled. "You're such a pain in the ass, you know that?"

"Guilty as charged."

"Now, about my questions…."

Carth pouted his lower lip out. "Damn, I thought I had distracted you with my glowing compliments."

She looked up at him from underneath her eyelashes. "Oh trust me, flyboy. You're going to have to do a lot more than that to distract me."

He blinked and stared at her for just a second too long. "Ummm… can I ask you something first?"

Mag was surprised but told him that he could ask his questions. "What happened, from your perspective, the night that the ship was attacked?"

Now her surprise turned to suspicion. "To be honest, I don't remember much. I was asleep when it all started. I was thrown out of my bunk and I hit my head on the night stand. After that, I basically just followed Trask, trying to get to the escape pods. I wasn't really in a position to know what was going on."

He nodded, but Mag could tell that he wasn't satisfied with her answer. "What's wrong, flyboy?"

He turned to her, his eyes hard with mistrust. "I don't know. It just seems rather convenient that someone that was just added to the party at the last docking was one of the few people to survive the disaster."

Mag couldn't believe her ears. "You have got to be kidding me. Are you suggesting that I had something to do with the crash?"

"Well, I've just been going through things in my head. Over and over again. And some of the details just don't add up."

She gave him a hard look. "Clearly Bastila didn't have time to use her powers. We were ambushed. Despite how powerful she is, that can't make up for the fact that the Sith came out of nowhere. If you had just listened to me in the first place, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess right now!"

Carth returned her angry stare. "Speaking of that, you never explained how you knew about that old smuggler's route."

Controlling her urge to yell at him, Mag said. "Because I was a smuggler! I got bored of that life and its dangers and figured I could do some good with my language skills. I can also slice computers and pick locks. Maybe it wasn't the most legal of professions, but it was a hell of a lot better than any of my other options!"

"It just seems a little strange to me that a smuggler was able to survive when seasoned soldiers did not."

Mag could feel her temper threatening to boil over and it took all of her self-control to keep it down. With quiet anger, she said, "Are you rather I didn't"

Carth ran a hand through his hair. "Of course not. You have more than proven yourself since the crash. We wouldn't have been able to make it this far without you. But still, that doesn't mean I won't stop watching. Bastila's party specifically requested your present. They commanded a lot of things when they came aboard, and it just seems convenient that you survived."

Mag threw her hands up in the air. "Shouldn't we be trying to work together?"

"I am working with you. I would be a fool not to. But I would also be a fool not to expect the unexpected."

She rolled her eyes. "You do know that we are on the same side, don't you?"

Carth nodded. "Look, it has nothing to do with you personally. I don't trust anyone, and I have my reasons. And no, I'm not going to discuss it. Now, can we move onto something more important?"

That was the last straw. Mag stopped dead in her tracks and looked Carth straight in the eye. "I consider this important. I can't work with you if you are this paranoid. We need to talk about this."

Carth was shocked by her outburst. "Alright, alright! If you weren't the most damned persistent woman I have ever met! We will talk about it. But later. Right now, we need to find the Hidden Bek base."

Mag wasn't entirely satisfied with his answer, but figured it was the best that she would be able to get at the moment. "Fine, but this conversation isn't over."

Although Carth wanted to give her a snide retort, he held his tongue and simply nodded. Deep down, he knew she meant well and only wanted to get to know him, but he had lived too long with his paranoia to just push it aside. The pair walked the rest of the way in total silence. Mag, because she was royally ticked off at the way he had practically accused her of engineering the attack on the Endar Spire. Carth, because he was angry with himself for insulting her. She was the only ally he had on this damn rock and he had messed up everything. He hoped that she would accept his apology, when he finally figured out what to say.

When they finally made it to the Hidden Bek base, Mag and Carth had another obstacle to face. There was only one guard outside the gate, but she was fierce. "For the last time, I'm telling you, we aren't Vulkar spies! Or Sith!" Mag said as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

The guard gave them the once over with her eyes and finally nodded her head. "Alright, you can go in. It's not like you would get very far attacking the base. Not with Zaedra guarding Gadon the way she does."

She turned to a keypad in the wall and typed in a long code. The gate lifted, and hidden doors swung open. Without waiting for Carth, Mag started walking in. He followed her silently, it was clear that she wasn't in the mood to talk. They walked down a long hallway until they finally reached a large room. There was a dozen or so Beks wandering around and they were of several different species.

Mag walked over to the back of the room where she saw a large desk. Standing behind it was a tall man with dark skin. His eyes were a milky silver, yet Mag had a feeling that he knew exactly what was going on around him. She confidently approached his desk but was stopped by a multi-colored Twi"lek woman. "Who are you and what is your business?" she demanded.

The man stood up and held out his hand. "Calm down, Zaedra. We aren't going to attack people in our own base. We aren't the Vulkars!"

"But they could be working for the Sith!'

Mag stepped forward. "I promise, we aren't Sith. If we were, do you really think our commanders would send just two of us in here to take over an entire gang base? We got your name and address from a girl named Mission Vao. She said you might be able to provide us with some assistance."

Gadon stepped forward and offered his hand to both Mag and Carth. "You'll have to forgive Zaedra. We have all been on edge since the incident with Brejek."

"That's alright, Gadon. We have been the victims of a gang attack and we don't blame you."

The man nodded. "So, since Mission vouched for you, I would be happy to help in any way that I can. As long as it is within reason of course."

Mag and Carth took turns explaining their situation. Gadon told that them he had heard about the escape pod crash, but that the pods had been looted already. "Were there any survivors?"

"One, a young woman. I have only heard rumors about her since the Black Vulkars were the ones that got a hold of her. My spies have told me that she will be offered up as a part of their prize for the big swoop bike race."

Carth shot Mag a look, but she didn't seem to notice. Instead, she leaned forward and put her hands on the desk. "Gadon, I need in on this race. This woman, well, she is a good friend of mine."

Although he was blind, Gadon could hear the urgency in Mag's voice. "I can help you. But first, I need your help in return. A few days ago, some Black Vulkars broke into the base and stole our prototype engine. Get it back for us and I will sponsor your entry in the race. There is an entrance to their base in the Undercity. Mission Vao should be able to help you."

For the first time since their entrance, Zaedra spoke. "Mission, Gadon? You've got to be kidding me. She is hardly more than a child!"

Mag looked the Twi'lek directly in the eye. "The kid has spunk and know-how. I don't doubt for one second that she will be able to help us."

Then, she turned to Gadon. "You've got a deal."

Gadon smiled. "I had a feeling you would say that. Now, in order to get to the Undercity, you have to take an elevator that is guarded by the Sith."

Carth opened up his bag and showed Gadon the Sith uniforms. "We have these. They helped us get here."

The gang leader shook his head. "The guard down here is a lot harder to trick. Luckily for you, one of my men was able to pick these off a drunk soldier the other night."

Gadon held up a stack of papers. Mag took them and carefully scrutinized them. They seemed to be legitimate. "I'd be willing to trade those to you for the uniforms."

Carth took the bag off of his shoulder and looked at Mag. She nodded, and he passed the bag to Gadon. He asked Zaedra to take it and she passed it to one of the Beks. Gadon turned to Mag and Carth. "If you would like, there is room for you to stay here tonight. There is a bunk or two in one of the dorms and plenty of food in the dining hall."

They thanked him and headed in the direction of the dining hall. After grabbing heaping plates of food, they settled at the table in the back of the room. In between bites, Carth said, "It was a lucky break to find them."

Mag nodded in agreement. "It is. And it is great to have food that isn't cantina crap. Though, we have a lot of work ahead of us."

Carth and Mag ate the rest of their meal quickly and wandered off to find a bunk that was free. They were both exhausted and all they wanted was to get a good night's sleep. By the time they found a space, there was only one bunk left in the room. Being the gentleman, Carth said, "You can take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."

Shaking her head, Mag said, "We both need a decent night's sleep, Carth. The Undercity is dangerous place and we both need to be at the top of our game. We are both adults here. I think we can share a bunk for one night without it killing us."

Although they had only been working together for a few days, Carth knew that this was not a time to argue with Mag. Especially after their brawl earlier. He nodded and began unlacing his boots. Pleased that he had decided to go along with her plan, Mag told him to get into the bunk first since she was smaller. After they had both settled in, Carth laid there, staring at the bunk above him. It was strange for him to be sharing a bed; he had gotten used to be alone all of the time. He thought this would make him have a hard time falling asleep, but the fatigue of the last few days had finally caught up to him. Within moments, Carth was asleep.


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

Carth awoke, startled. There was an unusual pressure on his chest and he sat up quickly. There was a muffled yelp followed by a few words that he thought were curses in an alien dialect. "What are you doing, flyboy?"

He had completely forgotten that Mag had been sleeping next to him. Sheepishly, he shrugged his shoulders and ran a hand through his hair. "I woke up and felt something on my chest. I kind of forgot that you were sleeping here."

Now it was Mag's turn to be sheepish. "Sorry, that was all my fault. I got cold and you were right there. I must have put my hand on your chest."

Carth was glad that it was still dark inside the dorm because he would feel himself blushing. "Oh. Well, that is okay."

Mag was about to respond, but was thankfully saved by an irritated Bek member. "Would you two be quiet? Some of us are trying to get some sleep around here!"

She heard Carth chuckle and then lay back down. Following suit, she thought about how glad she was that she didn't have to respond. It was an awkward situation and Mag didn't want to have anything to ruin the already tenuous partnership.

The next morning, Carth woke with the same pressure on his chest as the night before. Being careful not to move too much, he lifted his head slightly to look down at Mag. Even in her sleep, she looked tense; as if she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Glancing next at his watch, Carth realized it was time to get going. He gently shook her awake. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Morning, flyboy. You sleep alright?"

"Well enough. What's the plan for today?

She attempted to calm the craziness that her hair had become during the night. All this earned was a laugh from Carth. She gave him a look that was intended to quiet him, but all it earned was more laughter. "I'm thinking we should top of our supplies from the Bek's stores and then head straight to the Undercity. There is a good chance that we can find Mission and Big Z down there and they can help us get that swoop bike part back. We can't really plan out more than that since neither of us had been down there before."

Carth nodded and suggested that they eat breakfast first and then head out. "That sounds great, I'm starving." Mag said as she shifted out of the bunk and began to lace up her boots. Carth followed suit and the pair made their way to the mess hall. They ate a quick, but filling breakfast, stocked up on medpacs, and left the Hidden Bek base.

The elevator to the Undercity wasn't far from the Hidden Bek base. Using the stolen papers, Mag and Carth were able to make it past the guards and into the elevator without a problem. When the doors slid shut, Mag turned to Carth. "So Carth…"

He turned to face her. Carth was surprised to see an apologetic look on her face. "What is it, Mag?"

She looked down at the ground. "Well, it's just, uh, we didn't exactly end our last conversation well. I wanted to know where we stand."

Carth ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "No, no we didn't. I knew you wouldn't understand. I do consider myself lucky to have you around. You have to be one of the most skilled women I have ever met. Not only have you saved my ass on more than one occasion, but you seem to speak every alien language that we have encountered so far. But, regardless, I'm not going to stop watching you. I'm not built that way, period."

Mag threw up her hands. "That sounds like an excuse. Besides, what did I do to deserve this?"

"No, uh, no, you haven't done anything. Yet. But, there's no guarantee that you won't. I've nee betrayed by people before, people very close to me. I won't let it happen again. I can't let it happen again."

Although Mag wanted to scream at him, she kept her cool. "Well, it obviously won't happen again if you don't trust anybody."

Carth could see that the situation was quickly spiraling out of control. So, he attempted to diffuse it. "Look, there is no reason to take it personally. I'm not trying to insult you. This is just the way I am. Just calm down."

That was clearly the wrong thing to say. It did the opposite of diffusing the situation. Mag stood up on her tiptoes and poked her finger into his chest. "Don't you tell me to calm down, you hairless Wookie!"

At first, Carth wanted to laugh. But, one look at Mag's angry expression took that urge away. "Woah sister. Just calm down before your head explodes."

"We'll just see whose head explode you ungrateful monkey-lizard!"

He sighed and went to speak, but Mag interrupted him. "I can keep going all day, flyboy. I know insults in a dozen languages, but they would be lost on you."

For what seemed like the thousandth time that day, Carth ran an aggravated hand through his hair. "Look, gorgeous. I'm not trying to make things personal. I just don't trust people easily. And if you were smart, you wouldn't either. Not me, not Bastila, not even yourself."

Mag rolled her eyes. "So what you're saying is that you don't even trust yourself. That seems like a pretty awful way to live your life."

Carth sneered. "I don't need to be analyzed, thanks."

She returned his sneer, but didn't say anything. The rest of the elevator ride down to the Undercity was filled with an awkward silence. Both were too stubborn to apologize for their actions. When they finally reached their destination, the lift doors creaked upon. Almost immediately, they were ambushed by two of the residents. They demanded a toll of five credits. Carth was about to tell them to bother someone else because it was a public elevator when Mag pulled out some credits. "Here you go, I gave you ten because there are two of us riding."

The pair exclaimed with glee and they scampered off into the darkness. Within moments, Carth and Mag were approached by another resident. She was a young woman, not much older than Mission. "I'm sorry about those two. They give the rest of the Outcasts a bad name. My name is Shaleena. You're from the upworld, aren't you? I've never seen it; I was born down here. Is it as nice as they say?"

Carth glanced over at Mag. He wasn't good at this sort of thing and knew that she would be able to handle the situation with tact. He was surprised, however, to see that her eyes were a little misty. "It's….beautiful."

Shaleena smiled. "Even though I've never been to the surface, I think that I can see it in my dreams sometimes. The sun, the stars, it all seems so wonderful."

Suddenly, her smile disappeared. "But Gendar says that I should spend less time daydreaming and more time helping improve life for the colony."

"Is Gendar the leader here?" Carth inquired.

The girl nodded. "Yes. You'll probably be able to find him in the village somewhere. He is always wandering around, helping where he can. If you're looking for information, Rukil would be a good person to ask too."

Mag tilted her head to one side. "Who is Rukil?"

"He is the oldest man in the village. The children call him 'Rukil Wrinkle Skin'. He has a good memory, despite his age. He is usually in his hut, on the south side of the village, telling stories to whoever passees."

Carth thanked Shaleena for this valuable information and started to walk towards the village. After a couple of seconds, he realized that Mag wasn't following him. He turned back and saw that she was talking to Shaleena. The girl had a confused look on her face and quickly turned and ran away. When Mag approached him, he asked what that was all about.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not entirely sure. I asked her if I could help her in any way. She said no and then ran off."

His eyes narrowed. "Mag, we don't have time for all of this."

She shot him a venomous glance. "Look at this place, Carth! It is wretched! There is a lot of suffering down here. I was only trying to help!"

"We have a lot more important things to worry about! Like saving the key to winning this damn war!" He shouted.

Mag pinched the bridge of her nose. "I know that, flyboy! It's not like I am going to jeopardize the mission! But, if I can alleviate some of the suffering here on my way, then I will! I can't just walk by and ignore it!"

Without waiting for a reply, Mag marched off in a huff. Carth shook his head and thought to himself. "_Way to piss her off even more. Smooth move, Onasi."_

He rushed off to catch up with her. Although he was walking right behind her, Mag acted as if he wasn't there. They walked into what served as the center of the Outcast town and spotted out a man distributing tasks. Mag confidently approached him and stuck out her hand. "Are you Gender, by chance?"

The man looked her over and accepted her handshake. "I am. May I ask your name, miss?"

"My name is Mag. This is my partner, Carth. We were told by Gadon Thek, the leader of the Hidden Beks, that you might be able to tell us where Mission Vao is."

Gendar nodded. "I saw her and her wookie friend, Zaalbar, pass through here a couple of hours ago. She's a good kid. Sometimes, they'll bring us back stuff that they find and they think that we can use."

Mag thanked him and she and Carth asked where the nearest exit from the village was. Gendar pointed them in the right direction. "If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask."

The leader just asked them if they wouldn't mind excusing him because he had some village business to attend to. After shaking hands, he walked away. Carth started to walk away, but once again, it took him several yards to realize that Mag wasn't following him. He turned around and saw her disappearing into one of the Outcasts' tents.

Knowing that Mag would have told him if she wanted him to follow, Carth decided to stand outside the tent. There was no point in making her more angry than she already was. She was inside the tent for at least twenty minus. Just as he was starting to worry, Mag emerged.

Mag had a strange look on her face and Carth was dying to ask her what had happened. But, given the way their last few conversations had gone, he kept his mouth shut. However, she did offer up some information. "That was Rukil, the village elder that Shaleena told us about. He mentioned some journals that could be helpful to the Outcasts. So, keep an eye out for them, okay?"

Carth nodded and resisted the urge to press her for more information. They began making their way over to the gate that Gendar had told them about. As they approached it, they saw that there was a small crowd gathering there. I front, there was a young woman arguing intently with the guard. "You have to open the gate! Hendar will die out there if you don't!"

Without waiting for Carth, Mag began pushing her way through the crowd. "What's going on?"

The woman turned to Mag with tears streaming down her face. "My husband, Hendar, is outside the gate. There is a band of rakghouls stalking him. If the guard doesn't open the gate now, Hendar will die!"

Mag looked to the guard, but before she could speak, he shook his head. "I can't open the gates. There is a chance that the rakghouls could also enter and then we would all be in trouble."

She nodded. "I understand that. But, let me out instead. I'll help fight them off."

By this time, Carth had reached Mag. He shook his head in disbelief. This woman was insane! "I'm coming with you."

Mag didn't argue and the guard decided to let them out. Carth wasn't thrilled with the prospect of being torn to shreds by a monster, but figured if they succeeded, they would save a man's life and he would be back on Mag's good side. She turned to him. "Cover my back. I'm going to get to Hendar and make sure he has a weapon."

Carth nodded and pulled out his blasters. Mag dashed off, towards the man. She handed her his spare blaster. "Do you know how to use this, Hendar?"

He shakily nodded, but it was clear that he was terrified out of his wits. Mag unsheathed her vibrosword with one hand and grabbed Hendar's free hand with the other. Suddenly, there were several menacing snarls from behind them. Hendar and Mag began running, but the rakghouls were faster than she had anticipated. She let go of his hand. "Hendar, keep running. I'm going to hold them off. Don't worry."

The man didn't need telling twice. He took off, leaving Mag to defend herself. She was shocked when she finally caught a glimpse of the rakghouls. They looked like people, but also nothing like a person. Their skin was a pale, transparent, grey. Through some of the gross process, their limbs had been extended and their fingers were turned into long, threatening claws. Mag gulped and unsheathed her second vibrosword.

Then, she heard a series of shots fired from behind her. Mag spun around and was grateful to see Carth running towards her. Her confidence went up, knowing that he was behind her. So, Mag started to attack the rakghouls. At first, she was successful, cutting off the heads of three of the group. Carth eliminated another three, but that still left two to deal with.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Mag spotted a rakghoul emerging from the shadows, right next to Carth. "Flyboy, on your left."

Carth spun around to shoot the monster, but it was too fast and knocked him over. Mag rushed over and stabbed the animal in the shoulder. However, all this did was anger it. The creature leapt away from Carth and smacked Mag square in the chest. She flew backwards and hit her head on the concrete pillar. It knocked her unconscious and she slumped to the ground.

The rakghoul snarled and prepare to bite Mag. But, before it could do so, Carth stood up and shot it in the heart. He quickly shot the remaining two rakghouls as they raced to attack them. Putting his blasters into their holsters, he knelt down next to Mag. He tried to shake her awake, but it didn't work. So, he picked her up and tried to get her back to the safety of the city before another rakghoul attack.

Mag started to stir as soon as they entered the town gates. As they slid shut, Mag told Carth that she was fine and he could set her down. As he did so, as gently as possible, Carth noticed that she was unsteady. She wobbled a few times before standing up straight.

She turned to thank Carth, but Hendar and his wife rushed up to him. The woman threw her hands around Mag's neck and began thanking her profusely. Carth watched as Mag visibly stiffened. She was clearly not used to this display of affection. He was shaken from his thoughts when Hendar grabbed his hand and began vigorously shaking it.

"How can I ever thank you? My wife and I don't have much, but whatever we do, it is yours!"

Not knowing how to respond, Carth stood there awkwardly. By then, Mag had untangled herself from the enthusiastic hug. "That won't be necessary, Hendar. Carth and I were just glad that we could help out."

The couple thanked them again and walked away arm in arm. They stopped and passionately kissed. Hendar picked up his wife and held her close as they kissed. Carth watched enviously. They had what he once had and he would have given anything to get it back. He snapped back to reality when Mag touched his arm. "You alright, flyboy?"

He looked at her, half expecting to see her half-crooked teasing smile. To his surprise, there was genuine concern in her expression. He cleared his throat before answering. "Uh yeah, I'm fine, gorgeous. How's your head? You hit it pretty hard."

Mag knew that he was trying to change the subject on purpose and she decided that it was for the best. She placed her hand on the back of her head. There was a nasty bump forming near the base of her skull and it was tender to the touch.

She hissed in pain when her fingers brushed it. Carth moved her hand aside so he could take a look. It was starting to bruise and swell. He was worried that she might have a concussion. He told her so, but she waved his concern aside. "I've hit my head worse than this before."

Carth rolled his eyes. "Still, please just have the town healer take a look. With all of these rakghouls running around, we can't afford to have either of us be injured."

Mag knew that he was right, but her stubborn streak didn't want him to be. "Fine, but we can't take long. There is only a short time before the big race."

He nodded and started walking with her towards the healer's tent. When they entered, both were impressed with the healer's innovations. She clearly made due with whatever bits and pieces that made their way into the Undercity. After Mag explained to the healer what had happened, the woman took a small flashlight and shined it into her eyes. Then, she examined the lump on the back of Mag's head. Finally, the healer spoke. "It doesn't appear that you have a concussion. But, it is a nasty bump. I'm going to apply a kolto bandage, which should accelerate the healing process. You should be better in no time."

She then carefully applied the bandage to the bump. While handing a packet of pills to Mag, she said. "You're probably going to have a terrible headache soon. These should help with the pain."

Mag slid off of the examination table and gratefully accepted the pills. She reached into her bag to get credits in order to pay the healer. But, the woman would not accept them. "I heard how you and your partner saved Hendar. It is the least that I could do."

Even in the dim light of the tent, Carth could see the low flush that began to creep up Mag's neck. She clearly was embarrassed by the gesture. He stretched out his hand and the healer shook it. "Thank you for your help."

"Anytime. Please come back whenever you need healing. My door is always open."

They told her that they would and exited the tent. Carth and Mag crossed through the village, back towards the gate. Before they got there, a sleazy looking man stopped them. He was surrounded by various wares, so Carth and Mag assumed he was was a shopkeeper. "Hey, upworlders. Hold on!"

Although Mag could tell in an instant that he was up to no good, she stopped anyway. Her curiosity got the best of her. Carth didn't like the look of him either and casually put his hand on his blaster.

"Thank you, upworlders. My name is Igaer and I run this humble shop."

Mag resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Even down here, someone was trying to sell her something. The man licked his lips and continued. "I just so happened to notice that you were speaking with Rukil. And knowing that crazy, old man, I'd be willing to bet that he asked you to keep an eye out for those lost journals. Am I right?"

She raised an eyebrow and quickly surveyed the little shop before nodding her head. The man's eyes lit up momentarily. "Ah. I figured as much. Well, I have a business proposition for you. For each of the three journals, I will pay you 100 credits."

Carth watched the exchange, slightly confused. Mag had not explained the significance of the journals. So he had no idea why they would each be worth one hundred credits each. He looked at Mag and saw that she was wearing her crooked, half-smile on her face. "I'll think about it."

Without waiting for a reply, Mag started walking towards the gate again. When there were out of earshot of the merchant, Carth asked her about the journals. "Rukil told me that the notebooks hold the key to a lost colony. I'm not sure if they are real, but the old man seemed so convicted, I had to agree to help. And there is no way in hell I'm selling them to that slimy shop keeper. Even if they amount to nothing, the books are a symbol of hope. The people down here need that more than anything. But, I figured it would be a bad idea to cross one of the few people who have supplies down here."

Carth was amazed at the compassion behind Mag's words. She didn't know there people, yet she was willing to help them in any way she could. He knew that this should make it easier to trust her. But, that nagging voice in the back of his brain still told him no. "I see. I'll make sure to keep an eye out for them."

Mag thanked him as they made their way to the city gates. This time, the guard let them through without an issue as there were no rakghouls nearby. Now that they were not under attack, Mag and Carth were able to take a good look around. While the community of Outcasts had an organized, purposeful feel, outside the gates was another story. The ground was littered with debris, bones (Mag wasn't sure if they were human or animal), and a handful of scraggly plants.

"So, where do you suggest we start looking for Mission?" Carth asked.

Before Mag had a chance to answer, they heard someone yelling. Suddenly, Mission appeared out of one of the tunnel entrances. At first, they couldn't make out what she was saying because she was crying. Once Mission had caught her breath, she managed to blurt out. "You have to help me! No one else will help me! Not even the Beks will help me!"

The young girl collapsed crying. Carth caught her and she leaned into him until he was forced to cradle her. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Mazg almost laughed when she saw the helpless and embarrassed look on Carth's face.

Instead of chuckling, though, Mag decided to kneel down next to Carth and Mission. She offered the young girl some water. She accepted it gratefully and took a deep drink. Mission then took a deep breath to try and stop crying. Once she had calmed down, Mag asked her what was going on. Although Mission looked like she was on the verge of crying, she explained to them what happened. "Big Z and I were exploring the tunnels. We do it all the time! Then, a big group of Gamorreans found us. Zaalbar told me to run, so I did it. Normally, he can take care of himself, so I wasn't too worried. But, when I got to the end of the tunnels, he wasn't behind me! I waited for a while, just in case, but he never showed up. I just know the Gamorreans have him! And since he is a Wookie, they will sell him into slavery. You have to help get him back! He is my best friend in the entire galaxy and I can't let anything happen to him!"

After she finished her story, Mission started to cry again. Mag felt for the girl, it was clear the Zaalbar was the closest thing to family she had. Over the girl's head, Mag gave Carth a look to indicate that they were going to help her. Carth nodded in agreement.

They gave Mission a few minutes to calm down. Once she had, Mag told her that they were all going to go look for Zaalbar. "But, Carth and I need your help too. We heard from Gadon that you could possibly get into the Black Vulkar base."

Instantly, Mission brightened up. "Thank you! And I can get you in no problem!"

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "I picked this out of a pocket of a drunk Vulkar two nights ago. It is the codes for the back door of the base, so we should have no problem getting in. Poor sucker probably didn't even realize it is gone."

When she heard this, Mag's heart skipped a beat. Finally, they were making progress towards finding Bastila! She stood up and helped Mission to her feet. "Let's go rescue Zaalbar!"


	6. Chapter Five

Mission led Mag and Carth to one of the multiple entrances to the sewers. Carth didn't exactly fancy the idea of trudging through the tunnels, but he knew this was important. The smell was overwhelming and they all did their best to breathe through their mouths.

"So, how are we going to find Big Z? These tunnels must go on for miles!" Mag asked.

Mission laughed and tapped her nose. "I've got a general idea about where their base is and once the smell gets even worse, we know that we are heading in the right direction."

Carth looked at her with wide eyes. "Wait, you mean the smell is going to get worse?"

The girl laughed and nodded her head enthusiastically. "What else would you expect from a bunch of pig men living in a muggy sewer?"

Mag joined in with Mission's laughter, but Carth remained silent. It wasn't because he didn't find it funny, but because it almost made him sick to his stomach. He reprimanded himself in his head. "_C'mon Onasi, you're a decorated soldier and you're going to let a little smell get to you?"_

The group continued through the tunnels for about twenty minutes. Within that time, they were attacked by three, separate groups of rakghouls. Both Carth and Mag were impressed with Mission's blaster skills. When Mag complimented her, the girl only shrugged her soldiers. "It's what I had to do to survive. But if you think I'm good, you should see Big Z with his bow caster!"

Initially, Mag smiled back, but as soon as Mission turned her back, she frowned. It was clear how devoted the girl was to Zaalbar and Mag was terrified about what would happen if they weren't able to rescue him in time.

"Clear!" Carth shouted as he checked one of the side chambers. Mag walked past him and examined the two dead bodies inside. The first wore clothes that were similar to the ones worn by the Outcasts. The girl didn't appear to be older than Mission. Mag grabbed the satchel that was laying on the ground next to her. Animals had already scavenged the food, but there were still two datapads inside. She could tell that they were older models, but still in working condition. Everything seemed to match the description that Rukil had given her back at the Outcast village. Mag could feel her heartbeat quicken.

"Whatcha got there, beautiful?" she heard Carth ask.

Resisting the urge to call him out on using her newly acquired nickname, Mag told him that she thought she had found the journals that Rukil had been looking for. "Hopefully these will help him, and the other Outcasts find their Promised Land."

Mission perked up at the sound of the name. "I've heard that story before. I sure hope that it is true. They deserve so much more than what they have."

Both Mag and Carth nodded as Mag bent down to examine the second body. It was that of a Sith soldier. On his body, she found some credits, a blaster rifle, three grenades, and several vials of a glowing green serum. She held them up above her head. "Eureka!"

"Is that the rakghoul serum?" Carth asked.

Mag carefully tucked everything into her satchel. "I'm pretty sure. We will have to take it to Zelka topside, but this could be the big breakthrough that he was looking for. So Mish, judging from the smell, how close to you think we are?"

Mission stuck her nose up in the air and took a deep breath. Her face pinched up and she waved her hand in front of her nose. "We are definitely getting close. We should keep our guard up. Gamorreans are extremely territorial."

Carth unholstered his blasters and started walking towards the door. Just as his hand grasped the door handle, there was a loud grunting and snorting from the other side. Suddenly, the door flew open, causing him to go sailing across the room. Standing in the doorway were three Gamorreans. They smelled disgusting and each wielded a menacing looking battle axe.

Standing up as quickly as he could, Carth shook his head and raised both of his blasters. He aimed them at the Gamorreans and fired. They charged.

Although his shots were on target, but they did little to slow the attackers down. Carth watched as Mag leapt forward with both of her vibroblades extended. The smallest of the Gamorreans swung his battle axe over his head, bringing it down hard onto Mag's blades.

Her muscles ached with the effort to avoid her skull being cracked in half by the axe. The more she seemed to push up, the harder he seemed to push down. Out of the corner of her eye, Mag saw a blaster bolt zoom by her and strike the Gamorrean in the eye. The creature stumbled back a few paces before collapsing to the ground.

Mag turned and saw that it was Mission, not Carth, who had shot her attacker. She gave the girl a thumbs up before rushing to attack the next one. A few moments later, the three Gamorreans lay dead on the ground. Mag leaned over and started wiping the blood off of her blades on the shirt of one of the dead aliens. When she stood up, Mag noticed Carth rubbing his forehead where the door had hit him. She walked over to him and placed her hand on his face. "Let me take a look at that, flyboy."

He almost jumped back in surprise at her touch. But, Carth caught himself in time and allowed her to examine the injury. The bump was the size of a large egg and it was starting to turn purple. Mag reached to touch it and he winced in pain. Apologizing, she reached into her bag and pulled out a kolto patch. Doing her best not to touch the lump again, she adhered it to his forehead.

"Try not to get hit in face next time!" Mag said laughing.

Just as Mag turned around, she caught the smirk on Mission's face. Although the girl dropped her expression. When Mag made eye contact, the girl couldn't help but let out a little giggle.

Mag went to scold her, but she was interrupted by a loud roar. Mission spun around. "Big Z! He must be close!"

The group followed the direction that the roar came from. It led straight into the heart of the Gamorrean base.

"Sithspit!" Mag swore.

There were at least seven of the brutes, each with its own battle axe and some even held blasters. The two groups stood still, each sizing the other up. Dumb as they may be, the Gamorreans knew that there was very little room for an all-out melee skirmish. The seconds ticked by until Carth fired the first shot. The sound of the blaster bolt ripped through the air, breaking the spell. The bullet found its target and the first Gamorrean dropped dead of a shot to the eye. The six remaining Gamorreans all let out the same guttural battle cry and started swinging their axes violently.

Mag yelled at Mission and Carth to cover her. Before they could tell her to stop, she rushed into the fight. Between shots, Carth watched as Mag narrowly dodged axe blow after axe blow. He tried his best to take them down, but their gnarled hide was too thick. The only way he could kill them was to get a bolt through one of their eyes. But, with all of the movement, it was nearly impossible.

Eventually, the three of them were able to pick of all but one of the Gamorreans. Mag was exhausted from the fight and was near the point of collapse. She took a moment to quickly glance at the other and was dismayed that they were both in the same state. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for their last remaining opponent.

Mag pulled a spare vibroblade from her belt and tossed it towards Mission. "Carth, cover us!"

Mission quickly put her blaster into its holster and gripped the vibroblade tightly. The Gamorrean started charging at them. The two girls rushed to meet him and watched as several blaster bolts followed them. A few of them managed to hit their mark, but they did little of slowing their attacker down. Frustrated, Carth reached for his own vibroblades and ran over to join Mag and Mission.

As soon as Carth joined the melee, the tides turned in their favor. Although the Gamorrean was strong, it was difficult for him to keep up with the three attackers. He began to tire and this allowed Mag to spot a weakness in his armor. "Mission, his armpit! There is a hole!"

The girl nodded and thrust her blade into the unprotected area that Mag had spotted. The creature let out an angry snarl of pain. Carth took this moment of distraction and cut the Gamorrean's throat. It fell to the ground with a satisfying thud.

"Anybody hurt?" Mag asked while catching her breath.

Mission shook her head, but Carth nodded. "Yeah. Could you pass me a kolto pack, gorgeous?"

There was loud roar and Mission ran over to the door where it was coming from. She turned to Mag. "You patch up Carth and I'm going to work on picking this lock. It is an older one, so it might take me a minute."

Mag nodded and walked over to Carth. He was clutching his bicep. Through a tear in his orange, leather, jacket, Mag could see a dark, blood stain. Carth looked down at his jacket and swore. "Damn! I liked this coat!"

Chuckling, Mag asked him to take it off, so she could apply a kolto patch. She watched as he attempted to shrug out of it, but when he winced in pain, she moved to assist.

When his jacket was finally off, Mag saw that his wound was a short, but fairly deep. "What happened?"

"I think that the pig man's axe got me on the way down."

Carth watched as Mag nodded and then began to gently roll up his shirt sleeve. She reached into her bag and and pulled out of roll of bandages and a kolto patch. As she worked, Mag called out to Mission. "How's the lock coming?"

"Great! I am almost there!"

Mag smiled and looked up at Carth. "There. It should be better in no time. But please, be more careful next time."

He flexed his muscles and was pleased to find that the pain was already starting to alleviate. Carth watched as Mag made her way over to Mission. The way she had carefully bandaged him and then smiled had made him think, and hope, that their earlier fight had been forgotten.

"Got it!" Mission yelled at the door creaked open.

As soon as the crack was wide enough, the girl slipped through. Mag and Carth followed her and were pleased to see her and Big Z hugging. When they heard Mag enter, Mission turned. "Hey, Big Z, remember these guys. From the cantina? They helped me rescue you! I couldn't have done it without them!"

Zaalbar untangled himself from the girl and walked over. "Thank you for your help. I was scared that I was going to be sold into slavery. My people, unfortunately, fetch a high price on the black market."

Mission turned to translate, but Mag held up her hand. "You're welcome, Big Z. I'm just glad that Carth and I could help!"

Carth looked at her in disbelief, one eyebrow raised. "Since when do you speak Shirwook?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Since forever, I guess."

The suspicious nagging returned to the pit of Carth's stomach and he did his best to repress it. Before he could say anything, Zaalbar began speaking. "Mag, I would like to swear a life debt to you."

Mission looked rapidly between Mag and Zaalbar. "Are you sure, bud? It's a big deal!"

Carth raised his hand. "Could someone please explain what a life debt is?"

"A life debt is the most sacred promise that a Wookie can make. It means that Zaalbar will follow Mag and help her with whatever she does."

As much as he liked the Wookie, Carth wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of him tagging along. Especially since it was guaranteed that Mission would follow Zaalbar anywhere in the galaxy.

Just as he was thinking it, Mission voiced that she would tag along if Mag chose to accept the life debt. Mag swung her arm around the girl's shoulder. "I'm glad to have both aboard. We could use all the help we can get. Don't we, Carth?"

He wordlessly nodded and Mag shook her head. "Just ignore him. He's always like this. I'm sure he will come around eventually."

That statement made Carth frown, but everyone else chuckled. Well, he was pretty sure the Wookie laughed, but it sounded slightly like a threatening growl. Once she caught her breath, Mission spoke. "I'd say that it is too late to break into the Vulkar base now. But, they'll probably be out prepping for the race all day tomorrow. So, we should head back to the Outcast village, rest up, and get an early start tomorrow morning. That way we will be at full attention for the big task!"

Everyone agreed with her plan and began making their way out of the sewers. Zaalbar and Mission led, since they knew the layout better, and Carth protecting the rear. With Mag walking in front of him, he noticed that she would clutch her side ever so often. He didn't want to say anything in front of the other two but figured he could ask her when they reached the village.

After forty five minutes, the four made their way out of the sewer. Thankfully, the exit that Zaalbar and Mission led them through was only a short distance from the Undercity gate and they didn't have to fight any rakghouls. As the gate slid shut, Mission and Zaalbar decided to find Gendar to see if there were any open tents for them to spend the night in. Mag watched as they left and then turned to Carth. "Do you want to come with me to find Rukil? I want to give him the journals we found."

As she adjusted her pack, she winced. "You alright there, gorgeous? I noticed that you were doing that in the sewers earlier, too."

Unexpectedly, she shot him a steely glance. "I'm fine. Just a few bruised ribs."

Mag stalked off and didn't wait for Carth to follow. Instead, he waited until she was a safe distance away to begin walking. He wasn't exactly sure what had just happened. Carth thought that they had been getting along better when they were down in the sewers. He rolled his eyes; he was beginning to doubt if he would ever begin to understand her.

Carth waited outside the tent while Mag delivered the journals. It was long before there was excited chatter coming from inside the tent. The flap burst open and the old man came dashing out. Mag followed him out and quickly told Carth to follow her. Rukil was surprisingly spry for someone who was supposed to be over one hundred years old.

When they reached the center of the village, they saw Mission and Zaalbar talking to Gendar. Rukil pushed his way into the conversation. "Gendar, Gendar! She found them! I told you that it was real! The Promised Land is real!"

The leader turned and faced the old man. "What are you talking about Rukil? Who found what?"

"The diaries! Mag found the diaries! With the complete set, all the pieces come together! We have all the information we need! The Promised Land is closer than we ever imagined!"

Gendar pinched the bridge of his nose. "Rukil, we have been over this a thousand times…."

"Please, just look at them. If you don't see what I see, then I won't bother you about it again."

Partially to humor the old man and partially out of curiosity, Gendar took the diaries from Rukil. He scanned the books and then raised his eyebrows. "Rukil, are you sure the information in here is correct?"

The old man nodded vigorously. "I would stake my life on it! Before me, my father and grandfather worked hard to decipher the clues and I believe that all of this is true."

Gendar smiled. "We could leave within a few days. Our supplies are high right now. It will be a long journey, at least three weeks. I will assemble everyone for a meeting and we can plan from there."

The leader walked away and Rukil turned to Mag and grasped her hand. "Thank you. Because of your hard work, we are finally getting to the Promised Land."

The hope and happiness that filled the man's eyes nearly brought Mag to tears and struck her speechless. Rukil didn't wait for her to reply. He kissed her hand and walked back towards his tent, singing a jaunty tune. Moments later, Gendar returned. "I forgot to tell you that there are welcome to stay here tonight. There are some empty tents and I'll put out a call for extra blankets."

The four of them thanked Gendar and followed him to the empty tents. Mission pointed to one of them and said, "I'll take this one and share with Zaalbar. Trust me, you don't want to be around when he starts to snore!"

Zaalbar playfully growled and Mission gently punched his arm. "You know it's true!"

The two of them disappeared into the tent. Carth walked over to the other one and held open the flap from Mag. He could tell from her facial expression that she was entirely thrilled to be sharing a tent with him. But, knowing that she didn't have another option, he hoped that maybe they could work out their issues.

Although the tent was dark, patched, and smelled slightly of mildew, it was at least a safe place to sleep. Mag retreated to one corner and zipped up her jacket. "I hope Gendar brings those blankets soon, it is freezing down here."

Carth scooted closer to Mag. Sitting cross-legged, he unzipped his own jacket and passed it to her. "Here."

She pushed it away. "No, that's okay."

He ignored and instead, draped it over her shoulders. Mag rolled her eyes, but she didn't move to take it off. "Thanks, flyboy."

Carth nodded. Without his coat, Mag caught sight of the kolto bandage wrapped around his arm. She pointed to it and asked how he was feeling. He shrugged. "It's fine. I've had worse."

Mag raised an eyebrow but didn't press the subject further. She knew how touchy he was about his past. He was about to ask how her ribs were feeling when there was a voice at the entrance of their tent. It was one of the villagers delivering a pile of blankets and some dinner. They thanked the man and dug in. The fare was simple, but it was hearty. The Outcasts clearly knew how to make the best out of what they had. The two of them didn't speak while eating, they were starving. After dinner was finished, Carth and Mag arranged the blankets on the floor. As she went to lay down, there was a sharp, excruciating pain in Mag's chest. She sat up quickly and swore.

"What's wrong?" Carth asked.

"It's my ribs, from when that Gamorrean smacked me. Would you go find Esala? They are killing me!"

Carth nodded and sprang up. A few minutes later, he returned with the village healer. After Mag explained what was wrong, Esala asked her to remove the two jackets and her shirt. Carth felt himself blush and quickly excused himself from the tent.

The fabric of the tent was thin and Carth could hear Mag groaning in pain. He wanted to go in and help but didn't want to embarrass her. Ten minutes later, Esala emerged. She smiled at Carth, but didn't say anything. He leaned closer to the tent and said, "Mag, are you decent? Can I come in?"

"Mmmhmm, come on in."

Carth pulled back the tent flap and stepped inside. Mag was sitting on the ground, zipping up her coat. He sat beside her. "How are your ribs doing?"

She made a face. "Esala said that a couple of them are fractured. She also said that it was my own fault for fighting with Gamorreans."

He chuckled as she continued. "She gave me a kolto shot and some pain medication. And I'm not supposed to strain it."

Carth snorted. "Like that's going to happen."

Mag gave him a dirty look. "What's that supposed to mean, flyboy?" 

"You know, well, uh, you can be a bit reckless. Sometimes."

She watched as Carth ran a nervous hand through his hair. It took all of her strength not to burst out laughing; she just loved messing with him, even though it might increase his paranoia. After waiting a few seconds, Mag playfully punched him in the arm. "Calm down, I'm only messing with you."

He flushed. "Right, I knew that."

For a brief moment, they both forgot about all the fighting. It had been taxing on the both of them. But both were also too stubborn to admit it.

Not knowing what to say, Carth cleared his throat. Mag looked up at him and grabbed one of the blankets. Wrapping it around herself, she said, "Good night, flyboy. Sleep well."

Carth grabbed a blanket for himself and settled down for the night. However, sleep wouldn't come to him. He tossed and turned for a while, but finally decided to lay still. As he listened to Mag's even breathing, Carth found himself jealous that she was able to fall asleep so quickly.

As quietly as he could, he rolled over on his side to face Mag. She looked worried. her brows were furrowed and her mouth was turned down into a frown. He glanced down and saw her fist clench and unclench. It was clear she was only sleeping because she was physically exhausted.

After several moments of hesitation, Carth reached out and grasped her hand. Even though she was asleep, he expected her to pull away. To his surprise, she intertwined her fingers in his. Having not paid much attention before, Carth was shocked at just how small her hands were. For the most part, they were smooth. But, her palms were calloused, similar to his own. It was clear that Mag had led a harsh life. Carth laid silently for several minutes, too many thoughts running through his mind. Eventually, sleep claimed him.

When Mag woke up the next morning, she panicked for a moment when she didn't see Carth. After untangling herself from the blankets, Mag ran out of the tent. To her relief, she saw Carth, Mission, and Zaalbar were gathered around a campfire with some of the Outcasts.

Mission caught sight of her and waved Mag over to join them. She smiled, walked over, and accepted a bowl of food. It was the same fare as the night before, but a meal was a meal. She settled down next to Mission and began eating.

Carth smiled at her. "How'd you sleep last night?"

She shrugged. "Fine, I guess. My ribs are still killing me. How about you?"

He offered the same shrug. "Not too bad."

They ate the rest of the meal while Mag laid out her plan. "Mission, you will give us the door code so that Carth and I can break into the base. You and Big Z can wait here for us. We will be back as soon as we can. Hopefully we can slip in and out before anyone notices we were there."

Mag was shocked at Mission's reaction. The girl jumped to her feet. "No way! You told me that you needed my help. I ain't just some dumb kid, you know!"

Carth and Mag exchanged glances. They hadn't anticipated that reaction. As much as Mag believed that Mission was capable, she just didn't feel comfortable bring a fourteen year old girl into the middle of a street gang base.

"Mission, it's not that we don't want or need you with us. But infiltrating a gang base is dangerous."

She swore in Twi'lek and Mag raised an eyebrow. This time, it was Carth who spoke. "C'mon, Mission. If you want us to treat you like an adult, you should start acting like one!"

At this, Zaalbar let out a low growl. Everyone took a step back. Mission raised a hand towards him and slumped her shoulders. "I'm sorry, guys. I just don't like being left behind. How about I show you the best route to the base and then head back here with Zaalbar?"

Although Mag knew that Mission was up to something, she knew that their time to get the swoop accelerator was running out. So, she agreed to Mission's plan. "Alright, but we have to hurry."

After thanking the Outcasts villagers for their hospitality, the four set off for the sewers.


	7. Chapter Six

Carth wasn't exactly thrilled with the fact that they were traveling through the sewers again. He didn't think it was possible, but it smelled even worse than the first time they had been down there. Thankfully, Mission informed them that they wouldn't have to travel as close to the Gamorrean camp as before, so they were saved from having to deal with the smell of pig men.

After an hour of travel, the group found themselves in front of a shimmering wall.

"Here it is, the entrance to the Black Vulkar base. Luckily, I've got the door codes right here. But, uh, there is one thing that I forgot to mention."

Mag looked at her, with one eyebrow cocked in surprise. "And what would that be Mission?"

The girl looked down at her feet and shuffled one around. "Uh, well, it slipped my mind that there is a rancor guarding the entrance past this force field."

Both Carth and Mag's jaws dropped in surprise. "You have got to be kidding me." she said.

Mission shrugged her shoulders. "It isn't too big. And it's really dumb. I can slip past it, no problem."

Mag raised her hand up. "No way. I already didn't want to bring you along and now you are insisting on getting past the rancor? I don't think so."

As both Zaalbar and Carth both expected, this caused another fight. Mission insisted that she was the right one for the job, while Mag put her foot down and said that she wouldn't allow her to go.

Finally, Carth stepped between the two of them. He cleared his throat and used his best commander voice. "Stop it. Both of you. We don't have time to waste arguing with each other. To be honest, I think that Mission is the best one for the job. She is smaller than you, Mag. And with a stealth belt on, she will be able to easily pass by the rancor unnoticed."

Mission looked a little shocked that Carth had taken her side. But, she wasn't going to argue with him. "I figured I could put some grenades down to distract it. Then, we all run past and enter the base."

Mag pinched her nose in frustration. "I thought that we agreed that you weren't coming in the base with us, Mission. You and Zaalbar said you would wait for us back at the Outcast village."

Once again, Carth stepped into the conversation. "Look, like I said before, we don't have much time to waste. Mag, two extra hands wouldn't hurt. We are trying to get into a gang base."

As much as she didn't want to admit it, Mag knew Carth was right. Mission had already proven her skills with a blaster and had vouched for Zaalbar's as well. Realizing that she didn't have much of a choice, Mag agreed that the other two could accompany them into the base. "Mission, try and be careful when you approach the rancor. Please don't get hurt."

The girl gave a victorious whoop and checked her stealth belt. "I'll be right back, you won't even notice I'm gone." 

Mag watched as Mission's body shimmered and then disappeared. She took a deep breath and held it. Even though she had just met the girl, she couldn't help but feel attached to her. Mission was a rare combination of innocent and savvy and that struck a chord with Mag. If something happened with the rancor, she wasn't sure if she could ever forgive herself.

Carth walked over to Mag and placed a hand on her shoulders. "She is going to be just fine. Mission is a smart kid."

To his surprise, she leaned back against him. "I know, but I'm still worried. She's just a kid."

For several minutes, the three of them waited for Mission to return. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion followed by a roar. Mag untangled herself from Carth's arm and moved to go after Mission. When Carth realized what she was trying to do, he grabbed her by the wrist. "Don't! You heard that explosion!"

Just as Mag was about to turn around and demand that Carth let her go, Mission appeared in front of her. Mag yanked her arm from his grasp and embraced the girl. Then, she pushed the girl in front of her. "What the hell were you thinking? And what was that explosion?"

Mission laughed. "I'm fine. When I walked into the room, I noticed a datapad. Apparently, its owner had synthesized some odor that smells like rancor food and I got the idea to plant it into a pile of stuff with some grenades. Then, BOOM goes the rancor!"

Partially out of relief and partially out of genuine amusement, Mag started laughing. "That was pretty smart of you, Mish. Let's get going."

The four of them made their way carefully around the rancor's smoking corpse. Unsurprisingly, there were no guards posted at the entrance. "Guess they figured a rancor would keep intruders out". Carth mused.

The lock to the back entrance was simple and it only took Mission a few moments to pick it. As the doors slid open, Zaalbar and Carth slipped through to check for any Vulkars. When Mag and Mission heard shots being fired, they rushed in after the boys to join the fight.

Thankfully, it seemed that the base was only staffed by the bare minimum of gang members. It was easy for the four to take all the guards down. Once the last one had dropped dead, Mission ran to one of the computer terminals. "I'm going to hack in and download a map of the base. And maybe mess with some of the Vulkars while I'm at it.

Mag chuckled and walked over to a pod in the center of the room. "Hey Mission, any chance you could tell me what this is?"

"Um, give me a second. Okay. Looks like it's a weapon cache."

"Carth, watch my back. I'm going to try and pick this lock, so we can get inside."

He nodded and scanned the room. Mag bent down and examined the lock. She wasn't as good as Mission, but she was finally able to get it open. Inside there were several guns, a few spare combat suits, and tons of grenades. They had hit the jackpot.

After loading themselves up with the stolen supplies, Mission pointed them in the right direction. They had to fight through several groups of Vulkars before they were able to make it to the swoop bike garage. Looking at the map, Mission said, "I'm pretty sure the accelerator engine will be in here."

She bent down to pick the lock, but the door slid open. Inside, were several Black Vulkar members. The leader spoke to them in Twi'leki. _"Ahhh. Who do we have here? It seems like you are intruders? Or perhaps you are thieves? Coming to steal the swoop bike accelerator?"_

Mission's head tails shook with anger. "We are here to take it back. You idiots took it in the first place!"

_"The little girl has spunk, we could use someone like you amongst our ranks. Would you like to join us?"_

Mission spat on the ground. "No way. Not now. Not ever."

The Twi'lek laughed but didn't reply. Instead, his girlfriend did. _"Can we kill them now?"_

He nodded. "_Yes, kill them darling. Kill them all._"

The woman smiled and withdrew her blaster pistol. Then, the melee ensued. Besides the two Twi'leks, there were several Black Vulkar guards. Clearly Brejek wanted to keep the accelerator engine in his possession. Carth and Zaalbar decided to take on the guards since they were the largest opponents in the room. Mission was wrestling with the Twi'lek woman, who had switched to vibroblades. Mag heard the girl swearing as she fell down and watch as she quickly got to her feet.

_"You know, for a small woman, you pack a mighty big punch. I like that. Feistiness turns me on."_ The male Twi'lek sneered at Mag.

She rolled her eyes and swung her two vibroswords through the air and at her opponent. The Tw'lek growled and blocked her swing. The two stayed in locked combat, both oblivious to their surrounds. Suddenly, Mag's opponent dropped down, screaming in pain. Without thinking, she drew her blade across his neck, slitting his throat.

Mag spun around and saw Carth pointing his blaster at the dead Twi'lek. She turned back around and saw blood spreading through his pants on his knees. "What the hell did you do that for, Onasi? I had everything under control."

"Like hell, gorgeous."

Knowing this was not the time, nor the place for a fight with Carth, Mag just stomped away. After checking that Zaalbar and Mission were not injured, she walked to the back of the room. There, laying front and center in a locked, glass case, was the swoop accelerator. Way past delicacy, Mag unholstered her blaster pistol and used it to smash through the glass. The engine was smaller than she had expected, so she she was able to lift it easily up and out of the case. On the way up, Mag brushed one of the broken glass corners and sliced the top of her hand open. "Sithspit." she cursed, nearly dropping the engine.

Carth moved to help her, but Mission got there first. The girl took the engine from Mag's hands and passed it to Zaalbar. "You alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, just a cut. Give me two seconds to bandage it up and then we should get the hell out of here. I wouldn't want to see the look on the Vulkars faces when they realize that the accelerator is gone."

Everyone agreed and waited for Mag to bandage herself up. Then, they rode the garage elevator up to the main level. Although they had taken care of everyone on the inside of the base, there were still a few guards posted at the Lower City entrance. Carth and Zaalbar quickly dispatched them because Mission was cradling the engine and Mag's hand prevented her from properly wielding her vibroblade.

As quickly as they could, the group made their way back to the Hidden Beks base. When they entered, all eyes were on them. Mission proudly walked up to Gadon's desk and gingerly set the accelerator engine down. "We got it!"

Although the old man was blind, the surprise was evident on his face. "Did you really? That's great! And just in time! The race is in less than forty-eight hours!"

By this time, several Beks had come up to see the engine. When they realized it was the real deal, there was a cacophony of excited chatter. Gadon raised a hand to quiet them down. "Someone please inform the mechanics that the engine has been recovered. The rest of you, get the food and the booze. We are going to celebrate!"

There was a loud roar, and everyone went off to finish their tasks. Mag slipped over towards Gadon and Carth could see her talking to him. The leader nodded, and Mag walked towards the front door. Carth jogged across the room so he could catch up to her. "Hey, where ya heading?" 

Her eyes narrowed, but she answered. "I'm going up to the Upper City. I want Zelka to check my hand out. Plus, I won't have to make an extra trip to deliver the rakghoul serum to him."

"Mind if I tag along?"

Mag kind of minded, she was still a little ticked with Carth. But with her injured hand, she knew that it would be hard to defend herself if they met any gang members on their way to the elevator. So, she shook her head.

Thankfully, they didn't encounter any Black Vulkars on their way to the elevator. Mag figured they were a little preoccupied with the base break in. Mission had informed her of some of the havoc she had wrecked during her stint on the computer and Mag knew that they would have their hands full for some time. Carth flashed their papers to the guard and he let them on. Mag got on first and didn't speak. He wondered what he had done to tick her off this time.

"What's wrong?"

She rolled her eyes but didn't respond. Now Carth was starting to get ticked. "Seriously gorgeous, what the hell did I do this time?"

Mag ran a hand through her hair. "I was fine dealing with that Twi'lek guard back at the Vulkar base. You didn't have to go shooting him in the kneecap."

Carth couldn't believe his ears. "Some people are grateful when other save their lives, you know."

"I didn't need saving. I can take care of myself."

Then, he saw it in her eyes. Mag wasn't trying to be ungrateful; she was simply trying to prove that she was capable. He crossed the elevator until he was standing directly in front of her. Then, he put his hands on her shoulders. "Mag, I didn't think that you were losing. Time was running out and I simply wanted to speed up the process. You are one hell of a fighter. I know you can hold you own. But, I'm sorry if I offended you."

Mag slumped her shoulders underneath his touch. "I guess I shouldn't be mad at you then. But, there is one thing that is bothering me. You keep looking me out of the corner of your eyes, like you're waiting for me to mess up or something."

He immediately jerked his hands away from her. "I don't want to talk about it."

She rolled her eyes again. "Of course, you don't. But honestly, don't you think that you would feel better if you did?"

Carth ran a hand through his hair and pushed up his sleeves. "Damn it, you are so frustrating!"

Mag decided to try another tactic. She looked up at Carth from underneath her eyelashes. "And what exactly is it about me that frustrates you, flyboy?"

Despite himself, Carth felt himself flush. But, he caught himself before he let out a nervous laugh. "Oh no. I'm not falling for that one. I wasn't born yesterday you know."

She shrugged. "And you say I'm frustrating."

"What did I do?"

Mag laughed. "Oh, that's rich. Your paranoia is out of control!"

He sighed. "Fine, I guess I could use someone to talk to. When I think everything that has happened, there is one name that stands out. Saul Kararth."

She scrunched up her nose. "The Admiral of the Sith fleet?"

Carth nodded. "Yes, he was my mentor. Almost from the moment I entered into military service, Saul took me under his wing. I believe he wanted me to be his successor. But, four years ago, he tried to convince me to turn to the Sith. We had a huge fight and he stormed out of my house. I was shaken but didn't know what to do. The next morning, I woke up to the sound of bombs. He had turned, Mag. He completely destroyed Taris to prove his loyalty to the Sith. There was never a doubt in my mind about what he did. I swore that I would find him and make him pay for what he did."

Mag looked down and saw that Carth's hand were shaking. He caught her gaze and clenched his hands into fists. "I'm so sorry, but can you really blame yourself for trusting your friend and mentor?"

"I was stupid. I ignored all of the warning signs because I cared about him. He deserves to die. There is more, but I don't want to talk about it."

She nodded and put her hand on his arms. "Okay. But if you ever do, I'll listen."

Carth thanked her and they rode the rest of the way in silence. The doors slid open and they exited. They walked towards the clinic, neither wanted to speak because they didn't know what to say. When they reached the building, Guerney put in their names right away. Within moments, they were escorted to the exam room.

Dr. Forn knocked and then came in. "Well, I'm glad to see you two again. Despite the circumstances." He said as he glanced down at Mag's bloodied hand.

She laughed. "It's nothing too serious. I just nicked myself on some glass. But, I wanted to have it checked out in case some managed to catch itself in the cut."

The doctor nodded and then took her hand in his. After a few moments, he grabbed a pair of forceps and began extracting a few shards of glass. Mag sucked in her breath and reached out to grab Carth's hand. He was a little shocked but took it. After Dr. Forn cleaned out the wound, he wrapped a kolto bandage around it. "Give it a few days and it should be good as new. It is pretty deep."

Mag thanked him and opened her pack. "I have another reason for visiting you today, Dr. Forn. Carth and I found these in the Undercity."

She held up the glowing green vials and the doctor's eyes grew wide and round with shock. "It can't be. No, it can't! Are those what I think they are?"

"I think so. From the way that they were packaged, I believe that this is the rakghoul serum."

The doctor grabbed the vials and asked if he could test them. They nodded and waited. Five minutes later, Dr. Forn came back in. "You were right, these is the serum! I can't thank you enough for bringing these to me. You have changed so many peoples' lives. How can I ever thank you?" 

Mag shook her head. "That won't be necessary. Honestly, we were lucky to find it down there. But, I was wondering if you could make up a batch for me to take down to the Outcasts? They will need it."

"Of course. If you give me about ten minutes, I'll have enough vials ready for you."

Carth and Mag waited for the prescribed amount of time and then received the vials. "Anything you ever need healing wise, I will give it to you for free. And I would like to give you a discount on any medical supplies you would like as well." Dr. Form informed them.

Both tried to protest, but the doctor refused to listen. "It is the least that I could do."

They thanked him and exited the exam room with the vials. On their way out, Guerney stopped them. "You made a big mistake. You could have got a lot of money from that serum had you sold it to Davik."

Mag walked over to him. "Yeah? Then only the rich could have afforded it. This way, everyone will be cured. The rakghouls will die out."

Without waiting for his reply, she walked over to the front doors of the clinic. Carth shot Guerney a venomous look and followed her out. The two made their way back to the Lower City and then quickly went to the elevator that would take them to the Undercity. When they arrived, Carth and Mag found that the Outcasts were working hard at preparing for their journey to the Promised Land. She asked where they might find Gendar and one of the villagers pointed them in the right direction.

"Gendar, Carth and I have something for you." Mag said.

The leader looked up and smiled. He shook both of their hands. "Good to see you both. As you can see, we are quite busy getting ready for our trip. What can I do for you?"

Mag opened up her bag and pulled out the serum. "We found this on one of the dead Sith soldiers. It's the rakghoul serum. One of the doctors in the Upper City synthesized it for us. There is enough here to inoculate all of the villagers. We thought it would come in handy for your trip. Eventually, the rakghouls will die out. You won't have to worry."

The man's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious. I know that one doctor was working on the serum, but I hadn't heard anything in a while."

She nodded and passed him the vials. "You should get these to Esala right away. The sooner you start, the sooner you can leave."

"Someone find Esala please." He said.

One of the villagers brought the healer to them and Gendar gave her the serum. "Assemble everyone and inject them with this. It will protect them against the rakghoul disease"

They watched as she walked away to carry out his orders. Then Gendar turned to face the pair. "How can I ever thank you both? We don't have much, but name it and its yours."

Mag shook her head. "Don't worry about it. You needed it. We are just the delivery people."

They shook hands again and made their way back to the elevator. They needed to return to the Hidden Bek base to figure out how to Gadon planned to get them into the swoop race.


	8. Chapter Seven

When Carth and Mag reached the base, the celebration party was in full swing. They could see Mission dancing with one of the younger Bek boys and Zaalbar was keeping an eye on them while stuffing his face. She spotted them and waved them over.

"C'mon guys! Enjoy the party! Relax a little!" she laughed.

Mag smiled and walked over to the bar. She ordered two Tarisian ales and brought one to Carth. "Cheers, flyboy."

They clinked their bottles together and found a semi-quiet corner to sit down. It felt good to get off their feet; they had been running around all day. Mag noticed that Carth was pursing his lips. "What? Parties not your thing?"

He shook his head. "When I was younger, they were. I used to stay out all night long when I had shore leave. But now, not really."

She laughed. "You know how old that makes you sound, right?"

He joined in with his own chuckle. "I suppose it does. But, what can I say?"

Mag set her bottle of ale down on the table. "Let's dance. It will be good for you. We can let off some steam"

Carth vigorously shook his head, but Mag didn't give him a choice. She grabbed his hand and gave it a hard tug. Knowing how stubborn she could be, Carth set his bottle down on the table and stood up. "Alright, alright. But just one dance!"

They ended up participating in several dances. It was more fun than either of them had expected. Finally, they found a table and sat down. Mag wiped her forehead with her sleeve. "Whew, that was a blast. I didn't know you could dance, flyboy!"

He chuckled and raised one eyebrow. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me, gorgeous."

She was about to retort with her own flirty reply but was interrupted by a member of the Beks. "Excuse me, but Gadon would like to speak with you both in his office."

They were escorted through the base until they reached Gadon's office. It was fairly economical, everything had a place and a purpose. "Ah, Mag, Carth, please come in. Sit down. Can I offer you something to drink?"

Shaking their heads, they both sat down. "First of all, I want to thank you for all of your help in recovering the swoop accelerator engine. I have heard through some of my sources that Brejek is in an uproar. I must admit, it brings me a small dose of pleasure. However, there is another part to my plan. I would like you to ride the bike in the race tomorrow."

Mag could see through his facade right away. "Because you don't want to risk one of your own riders. Right, Gadon?"

He looked shocked but nodded. "You are correct. The engine is unstable, it is still a prototype. I would feel better if one of you rode it. I don't think anything will happen, but I'd rather be safe than sorry."

Carth immediately volunteered to ride in the race. "I've been trained as a pilot and I used to ride swoop bikes when I was younger."

Mag shook her head. "No way, flyboy. You'll be too heavy for it. If the engine is sensitive, then the less weight, the better. I have to be the one to ride."

"She's right, Carth. I think that is the smartest time." Gadon said.

Although he didn't like the idea, Carth was outnumbered. He nodded. Gadon continued. "I've set up one of the spare rooms for you two. Rest well tonight, Mag. You're going to spend all day tomorrow training for the race."

The same Bek that brought them to Gadon's office escorted them to one of the guest rooms. It was far nicer than the dorms they had slept in their first time with the Beks. It was spacious, with a living room, a bedroom, and a private bathroom. Mag flopped down onto the couch and began untying her boots. "I could get used to this place. It doesn't smell like our apartment." she laughed.

Carth agreed and went to go look at the bedroom. "Uhhh, could you come here for a minute, I think we have a problem."

Mag groaned and pushed herself off of the couch. When she walked into the bedroom, she saw what he was talking about. There was only one bed. However, it was far bigger than the bunk that they had shared previously. Carth ran a nervous hand through his hair. "I think that the Beks assumed we are, you know, together or something. You're the one racing tomorrow, you can have it. The couch doesn't look half bad."

She rolled her eyes and flopped down onto the bed. "Look, there is a ton of space. And I can guarantee that this is a million times more comfortable than the couch. I'm fine with sharing the bed with you. It worked fine the first time, I'm sure we can manage it again."

Carth felt his stomach do a flip that he couldn't quite explain. "Sure, that's fine. I'm okay with that."

He sat down on the edge of the bed and removed his boots and jacket. When Carth moved to lay down, he noticed that Mag was curled up on the edge of the bed in the fetal position. "What's bothering you, gorgeous?"

When Mag didn't answer, Carth scooted closer to her and placed his arm on her shoulder. "Is it about the race?"

She nodded. "What if we don't win and we can't save Bastila? Then we are back at square one. Time is ticking away, Carth. The longer the Republic doesn't have her, the more likely it is that the Sith will win this damn war."

Without saying a word, Carth laid close to Mag and wrapped an arm around her waist. It wasn't intended to be a romantic gesture, but simply to comfort her. They were both dealing with a lot and were all each other had on the entire planet. "It's going to be fine. Somehow, I'm not sure how, but somehow, I know that things are going to be just fine."

Mag didn't

reply but leaned into his chest. They fell asleep like that, both too tired to continue their discussion.

_ Bastila could barely open her eyes, the neural restraint collar around her neck was cranked up to its highest setting. It dulled all of her senses and this was something that the young Jedi was not used to. The gang members had slapped it onto her the minute they pulled her from the wreckage of the escape pod. She wasn't sure how many days ago that was. _

_ She thought she heard someone come into the room, but she couldn't be sure. Then, she heard her handcuffs being unlocked. A female's voice began speaking. "Brejek has ordered that you put these clothes on."_

_ Bastila felt a bundle being passed to her. She tried her best to put them on, but the collar made it difficult to coordinate her movements. The female gang member sighed in exasperation and helped Bastila into the skimpy slave girl's outfit. The woman gathered up the discarded clothes, put the handcuffs back on Bastila, and left the cell without another word. _

_ She was left alone for another twenty minutes before someone else entered the room. This time is was a man. He was tall and dark skinned. His eyes were black and glowed with hatred and lust. "Ah, I see that your new clothes were brought to you. They suit you quite nicely." _

_ "Who are you?" she managed to croak out. The effort left her exhausted. _

_ The man stepped close to her and ran his greasy hand down the side of her face and onto her neck. "I, my dear, am Brejek and I am the leader of the Black Vulkars."_

_ "Vulkars?"_

_ Brejek laughed. "I almost forgot that you are an outsider and do not understand the politics down here. The Vulkars are the most important and powerful gang in the Lower City on the planet Taris."_

_ Bastila could feel her head spinning. Why was she stuck her as prisoner? What did Brejek intend to do with her? She felt her handcuffs being unlocked for the second time. Then, a wet kiss on her neck. "I am offering you up as a prize in the swoop bike race tomorrow. But, I want to have my way with you first. Just in case the Vulkars don't win the top prize."_

_ She tried to protest, but her strength and her Force powers were too weakened by the restraint collars. For the first time in her young life, she felt out of control. It was over within moments and Brejek walked away without restraining her again. After she heard the door click shut, Bastila sank to the floor. She wrapped her arms around her knees and began to rock back and forth. The tears began to flow freely. Bastila could only hope that somehow, tomorrow she would find freedom. _

Mag awoke with a start and sat straight up in bed. She had forgot that Carth was sleeping with his arm around her, so she woke him up too. In his stupor, he asked her what was wrong.

It was hard for Mag to speak because she was panting so hard. Her body was covered in a cold sweat and she wiped her forehead on the corner of a blanket. By this time, Carth was sitting up too. "Gorgeous, what the hell is going on?"

She turned to him and told him all the details of the dream she had. After Mag finished, she leaned forward, put her head into her hands, and started to sob. Carth couldn't believe what he had heard. It was an extremely vivid nightmare and it honestly disgusted him. But, why would Mag have dreamt it? He shoved his paranoia down for the moment because Mag needed him. He cradled her in his arms until she fell back asleep.

The next morning, Mag woke up with a splitting headache. It felt as if someone was trying to drive a vibroblade between her eyes. She tried to sit up, but Carth had his arm too tightly around her waist. Mag tapped him. "Hey flyboy, it's time to wake up."

He slowly opened his eyes and groaned. Then, he realized where his arm was and quickly jerked away. "Sorry."

She laughed and turned to face him. "It's okay. To be honest, I really needed it last night. I really hope that dream was just that, a dream. It was terrible. I'm not sure if I could have made it through the night without you."

To conceal his embarrassment, Carth sat up and pulled the blankets off of his legs. He did turn to face her, though. "You're welcome."

Then, there was a knock on the door. Gadon, Zaedra and another Twi'lek entered the room. "I trust you both slept well last night. This is Rodsu Zelona. He is one of the lead mechanics for the swoop bikes here at the base. He will be conducting your training today." Gadon said.

Mag untangled herself from the blankets and stood up. "Give me a few minutes to pull myself together. Then, I'm all yours for the day. Can I meet you down at the track?"

Gadon and Rodsu nodded and the three Beks left the room. Mag breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down. "I guess there is no turning back now."

Carth nodded. "You're going to do great, I know it."

"Thanks, flyboy. What are you going to do while I train?"

He shrugged. "Not sure. Probably watch. I used to love going to the track when I was younger. Some of my buddies and I would go and place bets when we had shore leave."

She laughed. "You are a flyboy through and through, aren't you?"

He smiled at her. "I guess you could say that."

Mag stood up and crossed the room. She pulled her jacket on and looked around for her boots. "Hey, have you seen my boots?"

Without letting her see, Carth rolled his eyes. "You took them off in the living room last night, gorgeous."

"Oh yeah….I forgot." She said sheepishly as she exited the room.

After a few moments, Mag stuck her head into the bedroom. "I'm off to the swoop bike track. See you later?"

"Sure. I'll see you down there in a little bit. I'm going to see if Mission or Zaalbar wants to come watch."

She nodded and left their quarters. Carth heard the front door click shut. He stood up from the bed and walked towards the bathroom. After turning on the faucet, Carth looked at himself in the mirror. There were dark circles under his eyes and a few more grey hairs than he remembered. Sighing, he turned on the shower and climbed in. As the water poured over his body, Carth thought about the current situation. He was stranded on an enemy controlled planet with a woman that he hardly knew. There weren't many worse spots to be in. Despite this thought, he was thankful that the woman was Mag. Carth may not trust her entirely yet, but she was a valuable asset to have around. He shut off the water and dried off his body. After putting his clothes back on, Carth made his way out of their rooms in search of Mission and Zaalbar.

He found them eating breakfast with a table full of Hidden Bek members. After grabbing himself a plate, Carth sat down at the table. "Morning Carth! How'd you sleep?" Mission asked cheerfully.

"Fine I guess. You?"

The girl smiled. "Great! I love spending the night here at the base."

He smiled at her enthusiasm. Mission didn't have much, she was little more than street kid, yet she always seemed to have a sunny disposition. "Glad to hear it. Listen, do you want to come watch Mag practice on the track with me? I figured we could cheer her one to give her a confidence boost."

Mission nodded enthusiastically. "That sounds like fun! Doesn't it, Zaalbar?"

The Wookie was in the middle of a mouthful of food and was only able to nod. Mission laughed. "Sounds like a plan, Carth. We will finish eating and then I can show you where the track is."

Mag zipped up the track suit that Rodsu had provided her. It was a little too big, but because it was flame retardant, so she figured it wouldn't hurt. After she zipped it up, Rodsu gave her the run down on how swoop bikes worked. She wouldn't be practicing on the bike with the accelerator on it because the engine was too fragile. But, Rodsu put her on a bike of the same make and model as the one should would race tomorrow.

She took the first few laps around the track slowly. But, she as she rode, Mag gained more confidence. For some reason, riding the swoop bike felt almost natural. But, she was convinced that she had never been on one before. It was a strange feeling and almost distracted her on several occasions. However, once she almost crashed, Mag snapped her thoughts back to the here and now.

Carth, Mission, and Zaalbar found some seats close to the track. There were several other members of the Beks present, gathering research for bets for the race the next day. The three sat down and tried to catch Mag. However, she was too concentrated on her training to notice.

Mission turned to Carth. "Hey Carth? Mag told me you are a pilot. Is that true?"

He nodded, slightly surprised that Mag and Mission had been talking about him. The girl continued. "So, that means you've been all over the galaxy, right?"

"Yeah, my assignments have taken me all over. Why?"

She shrugged. "I guess I was just wondering how Taris stacked up against other planets you have been to."

Carth was torn. On one hand, he felt that he should sugar coat things because she was just a kid. On the other, Carth thought it would be best to give her the truth. In the end, the truth won out. "To be honest, Mish, Taris ranks pretty low on the list. Now, I've seen worse, that's for sure. But not much worse. The rich sit on top while the poor are literally beneath them. And don't even get me started on the Outcasts."

Mission's mouth hung open. "But, that's just since the Sith landed here and decided to occupy the planet! It really isn't that bad!"

He shot her a look and she reconsidered. "I guess you're right. It was pretty much this way before the Sith came."

"I'm sorry, Mission. But like I said, it isn't the worst place I've ever been. But, still. It's not a place for a kid to live on her own. Even if she has a Wookie friend to protect her."

She shot him a dirty look. "Hey, I ain't no kid! And Big Z isn't just here to protect me, okay? I watch his back, too! Geez, all I wanted to do was ask you a question! And I got a freaking lecture!"

"Don't you snap at me, missy! How's this: only bratty little children fly off the handle because of a single comment!" Carth said, doing his best to keep his voice calm.

Mission was not trying to keep her voice down at all. "I don't have to listen to you, Carth! You ain't my father! Even though you are probably old enough to be!"

Carth was about to cave and offer a retort, but Zaalbar growled and pointed. Mag was approaching them from the track. He shot Mission a look that indicated that they would finish their talk later. She looked exhausted and had several smudges of grease across her face. "Hey gorgeous, you're looking great out there. The Vulkars don't stand a chance!"

She wiped her hand across her face, which only made the grease smudges worse. "Thanks, flyboy. I'm starting to feel pretty comfortable out on the track. But, I have no idea what to expect tomorrow."

As Carth went to tell her that she was going to be fine, Rodsu called her over. "Got to go, guys. I'll see you at dinner. And thanks for coming out to watch. It means a lot." She said while flashing him a smile.

Carth watched as she scampered back to the track. Then he turned to Mission and Zaalbar. "Tomorrow, during the real race, I need you two to be on high alert. It's a high stakes race, especially with the accelerator engine in play. I will explain later, but it is absolutely crucial that Mag wins this race. We could really use your guys' help."

Although Mission agreed to help, Carth could see the anger in her eyes. He knew that he should deal with their fight, but figured it was best to let the girl cool down first. Zaalbar agreed too, at least Carth thought so. It was difficult for him to distinguish between the different types of growls. And with Mission angry with him, there was nobody to translate.

Mission and Zaalbar watched Mag practice for another hour before they got bored. They got up without a word and left to go back to the base. Carth, not wanting to anger Mission more than he already had, stayed seated. It was best to give her some space; she was only a kid. Plus, being alone gave him more time to think about the following day. If Gadon's information was correct, Mag winning would secure all of the prizes that the gangs had put up, including Bastila. Thankfully, they did not know of her importance, only that she was a survivor of a Republic escape pod crash. With a win, they were one step closer to getting Bastila back to where she belonged. The next step would how to get off the planet. Carth didn't have a single idea of how they would accomplish that. The planet was under Sith quarantine, their ships surrounding the planet and their troops deployed in all areas. It would be difficult to get past the blockade without them noticing who they were. He sat on the bench thinking until he felt a small tap on his shoulder. Carth looked up and it was Mag. "Hey gorgeous, done already?"

"It's been four hours, flyboy. Have you been here the whole time?" 

He ran a hand through his hair and nodded. "I guess so, I was lost in my thoughts. Trying to plan out the next step after we get a hold of Bastila. How do you feel about tomorrow?"

Mag sat down next to him and leaned over, putting her elbows on her knees. Sighing, she said, "Fine, I guess. Rodsu said that I was making great times and that they would get even better with the addition of the accelerator. He thinks that I have a good shot."

"I think you have more than a good shot. I've been watching you, the times you are posting are spectacular. You're going to win tomorrow, no doubt about it."

She sat up and looked at him. Although Mag knew that he was exaggerating slightly for her sake, she was still grateful. She slipped her arm through his and leaned onto his shoulder. "I sure hope so, flyboy. I sure hope so."

The next morning, the alarm went off way too early. Mag reached over and smacked it to turn it off, but all she succeeded in doing knocking it off of the nightstand. She groaned loudly and rolled out of bed. Picking it, Mag turned off the alarm and set it back down. Carth, awoken from his deep slumber by Mag's clumsiness, sat up in bed. "Morning."

She smoothed her hand over her hair, but it didn't do much to calm the tangles. "Morning. I've got to leave in a few minutes. Gadon and Rodsu want me to get a couple of practice runs in before the big race."

Carth nodded. "Good luck. I'll be down there before the race starts. Mission, Zaalbar, and I will be in the stands, cheering you on."

Mag smiled and left to the bathroom to change into her racing suit. Gadon had had it specially made for her so that she would match the rest of the Beks team. When she came out, Carth's jaw nearly dropped. The suit was made of a black, fire-resistant material. It was skin tight, so it fit her like a glove. Mag also wore a pair of dark green boots that came up to her thighs. She has slicked her hair back into a low ponytail so that it would fit underneath of her helmet.

"Ugh, this thing is so uncomfortable. I'm only wearing it because it won't catch on fire if the engine does."

Raising an eyebrow, Carth decided not to say anything. Mag shot him a look. "What, flyboy?"

"Uhhh, nothing. It just reminds me a little of the Sith suit you were wearing a few days ago." he said with a smirk.

She sat down next to him on the bed and playfully punched him in the arm. "Keep those thoughts to yourself."

He shrugged, and she continued. "In all honesty, I need you watching my back today. I have a funny feeling that the Vulkars are going to try something funny. And it is key that we get Bastila today."

Carth's facial expression turned serious. "You read my mind. I've already talked to Mission and Zaalbar and they are on board to keep an eye out. At the first sign of something out of place, we will be there. You won't have anything to worry about."

Mag patted his arm with something resembling genuine affection. "Thanks, flyboy. I better get down to the track. If I am late, then Rodsu will have my head."

After getting breakfast, Mission, Zaalbar, and Carth made their way down to the swoop bike racing track. The stands were fairly full when they got there, but having a Wookie with them cleared some spots near the front. Carth was thankful that they were able to sit so close. From his vantage point, he had a clear view of Bastila. The poor girl was being forced to wear a neural restraint collar. In order to make her a more appealing prize, the Vulkars had dressed her in a skimpy, outfit that was little more than underwear. Carth felt bad for the girl, knowing her prim attitude, she would be mortified.

Suddenly, there was a voice in his ear. "Hey, it's me. Is your comm link working alright?"

He pressed a hand to his ear. "Yup, read you loud and clear. I saw a few of the race numbers posted. Do you know what time you have to beat?"

"Thirty-eight seconds. Easy as pie. Do you have eyes on Bastila?"

"I do. She's close to the announcer booth. She has a neural disruptor on."

"Damn, that will make it harder to try and sneak her out in case I lose. I'll scope out the cage and see if there is any way to pick the lock."

Before Carth could reply, the announcer's voice up over the loudspeakers. "Next up, the Bek's racer, Amaria Tetra."

"Got to go, flyboy. I'll check in later."

Carth heard her connection click off. Mission spoke. "Why is she using a false name?"

"Just in case someone got a hold of the ship's crew lists. We figured it would be best to ride under a fake name. Gadon knows who she is and that's all that matters in the end."

The girl nodded. "Makes sense to me."

The three watched in nervous silence as Mag raced. She got off to a bumpy start, running into a couple of obstacles that had been placed on the track. But, she soon found her rhythm and began racing like a pro. After mere moments, her race was over.

Mission jumped up and began cheering. "Did you see that? She made it in only twenty-eight seconds! Mag knocked a full ten seconds off the leader's time!"

Carth and Mission high-fived each other. But, just as they sat back down, the announcer's voice came back on. "And with a score of twenty-five point three seconds, Redros of the Black Vulkars."

All three of them swore and Carth heard Mag come in over the communicator link. "Sithspit! I had him by ten freaking seconds!"

Mag then proceeded to swear in a couple of different languages, but Carth only recognized Mando'a. "After my practice runs this morning, the engine is unstable. I heard it making weird noises during my last run. It has one, two races left in it at the most. And that is counting on the fact that it doesn't count on fire. I'm not sure if I can do this, Carth."

He could hear the nerves in her voice. "Listen to me, gorgeous. You can do this. We are all rooting for you and Bastila is counting on you. Now get back on that bike."

She laughed. "Yes, commander, sir."

The comm link turned off and Carth watched as Mag mounted the swoop bike. He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. All of their work thus far had come down to this single, race. Zaalbar clapped him hard on the shoulder, it pushed Carth forward and almost out of his seat. The Wookie said something, and Mission translated. "Mag will do fine. Have faith in her."

Carth nodded and tried to remain calm for the other two. But, in truth, his stomach was twisting and turning in knots. He watched as the starting light went from red, to yellow, and finally to green. Mag gunned it right out of the starting gate. Although the obstacles had tripped her up during her first heats, they posed no problem this time around. She skimmed by them as if they weren't even there. This gave him hope that she would actually be able to pull it off.

Mag channeled all of her focus into this heat. She couldn't allow herself to be distracted by the 'what ifs?' that were plaguing her. As the starting light turned green, she revved the engine. Mag took off like a blaster bolt and zipped past the first set of obstacles. Using her memory, she was able to hit almost all of the accelerator pads. This brought her speed dangerously high. Mag could hear the engine whining at her. She was no mechanic but could assume that this was not a good thing. However, knowing that it was crucial that she get her time down as low as possible, pushed the bike into a higher gear.

The engine started whining even louder. Then, suddenly, Mag felt it vibrating. But, instead of downshifting, she aimed for another accelerator pad. The end of the race was just moments away, she only needed the engine to last a little bit longer. Just as she was about to cross the finish line, Mag smelled smoke. She looked down and saw a few flames bursting out of the side. Quickly, Mag turned off the engine. She allowed the momentum to carry her over the finish line.

The announcer came over the intercom. "Ladies, gentlemen, and other species, we have a winner! With a time of 24.32 seconds, Amaria Tetra of the Hidden Beks takes first place!

Carth jumped to his feet. "She did it! Force, she actually did it!"

His excitement only lasted a few moments. Brejek jerked the microphone away from the announcer. "I am here to officially withdraw the Vulkars prize from the pot. The Hidden Beks cheated and therefore I will not allow them to take the winnings."

The crowd started booing Brejek. The announcer grabbed the microphone back. "You can't do this, Brejek. It goes against our most sacred traditions!"

The gang leader snarled. "I can do what I wish! Vulkars to me!"

As Carth, Mission, and Zaalbar made their way down to the ring, they saw a large number of Black Vulkars flocking to Brejek. Mag was being supported by a few of the Hidden Beks, but they were clearly outnumbered. She was doing her best to make her way towards Bastila, but there were just too many people in the way.

Brejek walked over to the cage that was holding Bastila. "You're coming with me, sweetheart."

She opened her eyes. "I might have something to say about that."

He watched in shock as the neural restraint collar popped off of Bastila's neck. The door of the cage flew up and the two guards were knocked over with a sweep of her hand. She quickly grabbed one of the unconscious guards' swords and armed herself.

Mag saw what was happening from across the way. She was about to move towards the young Jedi, but all of a sudden, her vision started to swim. Suddenly, everything went black.

She found herself observing a lightsaber battle. Except, Mag was one of the participants. There was a heavy mask covering her face and it was difficult to see out of the small eye slits. She did her best to block Bastila's blows, but they were coming fast. Then, the vision was over as quickly as it had started.

Mag shook her head to clear it and finally was able to make her way over to Bastila. "I'm not sure if you remember me, but I was with your team on the Spire."

"Miss Tetra? You survived the crash?"

"I did. And so did Carth."

The Jedi's eyes grew wide. "Commander Onasi survived as well? Well, this is good news!"

Mag resisted the urge to throw up her hands in frustration. Apparently her surviving was not good news.

The melee surrounded the two women. Thankfully, most of the gang members took it as an excuse to fight out their grievances with one another and took little notice of Mag and Bastila. Carth fought his way through the crowd while Zaalbar and Mission made sure they had a clear path to the exit. "Come with me, we can use the fighting as a cover to escape. "

They nodded and followed him towards one of the back doors out of the racing track. Mission and Zaalbar fired a few warning shots over their heads to keep anyone from following them. Carth pushed Bastila, then Mag threw the open door. Zaalbar grabbed Mission by the arm and then followed Carth. They ran like hell through the streets of the Lower City until they found a safe alcove, far away from the track.

The group stopped to catch their breath. Carth noticed how uncomfortable Bastila was in her slave outfit, so he unzipped his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. "Thank you. Now, is there somewhere safe that we can rest for a while. We all had quite a day."

Mag nodded. "We have a rented apartment in the Upper City. It isn't anything fancy, but it will have to do. Mission, Big Z, you two are welcome to come join us."

"But aliens aren't allowed to live in most Upper City apartments, Mag." Mission said.

"I know. But I don't the landlord of this particularly building cares. Carth and I have seen tons of different species wandering the halls."

Bastila gave a curt nod of her head. "Well, it seems to have been decided then. Off to the Upper City apartments we go."

Mag shook her head. "One last thing. Just in case the Sith or the Beks have circulated your picture or something, we will need to get you a disguise or something."

Mission pulled a scarf out of her bag. "Here, you should tie this around your hair or something. It will disguise your hair color and some of your face."

The young Jedi took the scarf from her. "Thank you."

After Bastila finished tying the scarf, the group headed towards the elevator. Carth produced the papers, but for the first time, the guard was sceptical. "Who are all these people? You know aliens aren't really allowed up there."

Mag took the lead. She grabbed Carth by the hand and gave it a slight tug to warn him not to move and just go with her plan. "My husband and I are procuring some slaves for clients upstairs."

The guard looked over Zaalbar, Mission, and Bastila. He seemed to accept her story and allowed them to enter the elevator. As soon as the doors shut, Mag quickly dropped Carth's hand and turned to the other three. "Sorry about the slave thing, guys. It was the only thing I could come up with under pressure."

Mission waved her hand. "Not a big deal. I know you don't believe in that stuff. It was actually pretty smart. The guard bought it right away!"

Mag felt better once she heard that. "I'm glad. I was worried for a minute. But, the reason that he bought my story is because it does happen up there. We are going to have to be really careful while up there. I know that there is a back door entrance to the building, you'll have to use that even though there are aliens that live there. Is that okay?"

Both Mission and Zaalbar nodded. "We're used to sneaking around places, Mag."

Everyone laughed at that remark. When the elevator reached the Upper City, they exited and walked back to the apartment. They all entered through the back entrance and climbed up the few floors to their rooms. Carth unlocked the door. "It's nothing special, but it's home."

Bastila entered and took a look around. Mag couldn't help but to notice a small sneer resting on her lips. "Is there a fresher? I would like to take a quick shower."

Carth pointed her towards the end of the hallway. "It's not a great one, the spouts only seem to work on the cold setting. But, it will get you clean. There should be some extra towels in the closet."

"Thank you, Carth. I shall return momentarily. After I bathe, we should discuss a plan for how to get off of this planet." Bastila said as she walked out of the living room towards the fresher.

Once she was out of earshot, Mission whistled. "That one is wound a little tightly, wouldn't you say?"

Mag nodded. "You can say that again. I'm going to make some food, wanna help?"

The girl nodded enthusiastically and followed Mag into the kitchen. Since Carth didn't speak the same language as Zaalbar, they set about cleaning their weapons from the skirmish.

Half an hour later, Bastila emerged from the fresher. Instead of donning her slave outfit, Mag had given her some of her spare clothes. Her brown hair was untied from its braids and it hung dripping down her back. "Something smells good."

Mission smiled. "Mag and I are cooking some dinner. It should be ready in just a few minutes. Would you mind telling the boys?"

Bastila shook her head and walked into the living room. "Mission requests that we move to the dining table. She and Mag have prepared us something to eat."

The five of them ate dinner in relative silence. Every now and then, someone would make a comment about the food or the day, but hardly any responses were returned. They were simply too tired to do so. It had been a long few days for all of them.

After they were finished eating, Zaalbar cleaned up the dishes. Bastila turned to Mag and Carth. "So, now that we are all back together, how are we going to get off of Taris."

They exchanged glances. Carth cleared his throat. "We actually haven't got that far yet."

Bastila looked at them with shock. "What do you mean? Honestly, have you only been hanging out with the swoop gangs since we crashed?"

Mag's mouth hung open. "Well, we were a little busy trying to find you, Your Highness. It wasn't exactly easy to track you down. Carth, Mission, Zaalbar, and I have been working our asses off!"

The Jedi scoffed. "Well, now that _I'm_ back in charge, I trust things will go more quickly. And, I'm sure things will go more smoothly than my 'rescue' from Brejek and his gang."

Raising an eyebrow, Mag asked what Bastila meant by "rescued."

"It's quite obvious isn't it? I had already freed myself by the time you arrived."

Mag threw her hands up in the air. "If Carth and I hadn't figured out where you were in time, you would have escaped right back into the Vulkars' clutches."

Bastila was about retort, but Carth stopped her. "I know that you are new at this, but a leader doesn't berate her troops."

Instead of calming down the situation, Carth's comment only seemed to inflame her. "That hardly seems like an appropriate way to address your superior officer, Commander Onasi. I am the Jedi here and this is my mission!"

Carth ran a hand through his hair. "You may be a Jedi with a rare gift, Bastila, but that doesn't make you a leader. A true leader listens to her troops and the people who have seen more battle experience than you ever will!"

Before Bastila had a chance to reply, Mag slammed her palms down onto the table. "That's it! I've had enough. I need to go take a walk."

Without waiting for anybody's response, Mag pushed her chair away from the table and got up. She stomped over to the front door and slammed it on her way out. Carth got up to follow her, but Mission stopped him. "Give her some time to cool off. If you drag her back here now, you know she is just going to get angrier. I guarantee you that she will be at the cantina."

Carth sat back down; Mission was right. The last thing he needed was for Mag to be even madder at him. He watched as Bastila pinched the bridge of her nose. "You are right, Carth. I apologize for what I said. The past week has been difficult for me and my temper is quite short. What do you suggest we do?"

"To be honest, Bastila, I'm not sure. Mag and I have been so focused on what to do about finding you that we haven't had much time to figure a way out. The Sith have quratineed all of Taris, so it is not going to be easy."

Bastila nodded. "If you don't mind, I would like to go meditate. Perhaps in a little bit, you could go find Mag and bring her back to the apartment? That way we can all figure out a good place to start."

Carth said that he would do so and lead Bastila to one of the back bedrooms. "You can use this space, if you want. We can shut the door, and nobody will disturb you. I'll head out to find Mag in about twenty minutes."

Bastila agreed to the plan and thanked him. Carth shut the door behind him. When he came back into the living room, Mission and Zaalbar were playing Pazaak on the table. Carth sat down on the couch. "Mind if I join, I want to make sure Mag has adequate time to cool off."

Mission nodded enthusiastically. "Prepare to lose, old man!"

The trio played Pazaak for half an hour before Carth stood up. "I'm off to go find Mag. Will you tell Bastila if she finishes meditating before I get back?"

Both Mission and Zaalbar agreed to do so and Carth left. He knew Mission was probably right, he was almost sure that he would find her at the local cantina. While he walked there, Carth thought about the discussion that had led to Mag's exit. He felt sorry for her. Bastila essentially told Mag that she wasn't needed and Carth knew from personal experience that that was a terrible idea. No wonder she had left in such an angry state. Now, Carth felt personally responsible to setting things right.

When Carth arrived at the cantina, he found Mag straight away. She was sitting in one of the corner booths with a man that he didn't recognize. Quickly, he made his way over to their table. When he got close enough to hear what they were saying, Carth found that he could only understand a handful of words. They were speaking Mando'a.

Clearly, the meeting was just finishing up because the man at the table stood up as soon as he saw Carth. He passed a datapad to Mag, shook her hand, and tossed a few credits onto the table. As he went to leave, the mystery man looked at Carth with a snarl on his lip. Carth thought that he looked vaguely familiar but couldn't quite place where he had seen him.

As soon as the man left the room, Carth slid into the booth across from Mag. She was nursing a glass of dark liquid and there were a couple of empty glasses on the table. "I see you found me, flyboy."

He nodded. "Listen, about what happened back at the apartment…"

She held a hand up. "I don't want to talk about it. She is a spoiled Jedi princess who believes that the world should bend to her will. I saved her ungrateful ass, so I did my job. End of story."

"I know. It was unfair of her to say those things. But, we have to finish the mission. We have to get her safely back to where she belongs." Carth was being purposely vague in case there were any off duty Sith around.

She sighed and conceded. "I know you're right, but that doesn't make me any happier about it. If she was so good at rescuing herself, I'll bet that she can rescue herself right out of this planet."

Carth couldn't' help himself and snorted loudly. This set Mag off and soon they were both laughing. After a few minutes, Mag took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Actually, I may have found a solution to us getting off of Taris. The man that I was talking to when you came is named Canderous Ordo. He works for Davik. We saw him briefly when we were in the Lower City."

Now Carth knew where he had seen the man before. When he and Mag had been exploring the Lower City, they had encountered him shaking down some people for credits. Apparently, he was Davik's debt enforcer. Mag continued. "Well, Davik's ship, the _Ebon Hawk_, is fast, fast enough to get us through the Sith blockade. But, we will need the bypass codes if we have any chance of not being blown up by their guns."

She lowered her voice. "In order to get the codes, we have to somehow break into the Sith base. Canderous says that there is a droid sold at a local shop that should be able to help us. He gave me some credits and expects us down in the Lower City cantina as quickly as possible."

Carth looked at her, impressed. "Wow, you managed to get a lot done while you were out!"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Actually, it was all Canderous. When I exited our building, a random Twi'lek handed me a datapad. The only thing he did was ask me if I was the winner of the swoop bike race."

A waitress walked by and Mag ordered them each a drink. When they were brought to the table, she raised her glass and Carth did the same. "Here's to a successful mission."

They clinked glasses and drank the dark brown liquid within. Carth made a face. The liquor was disgusting. "What the hell did you order, gorgeous?"

"I'm not exactly sure. I told the waitress to bring something strong."

He chuckled and set his glass down. Mag smiled. "I didn't really care what I was drinking, as long as I was drinking. I think before we try and get into the base, we should get some supplies. And that way, when we show up with the droid and the gear, nobody can argue with our plan."

Carth agreed with her plan and pulled out some credits for the drinks. He set them down on the table. "Let's hit the road."

First, the duo went to the local weapons store. The owner recognized Mag as the winner of the big swoop bike race and gave them a discount. Although they had cushioned their supplies of guns during the Vulkar base raid, Mag hadn't found a vibrosword to her liking. But, then she spotted a double-bladed one in a display case. "How much is this one?" she asked.

The owner checked the price tag. "For you, only four hundred credits. I would charge a regular customer at least four hundred and fifty."

Mag whistled through her teeth. "Thanks, but that is a little out of my price range. We will just take the upgrades and the grenades."

Carth saw the disappointment in her eyes. She had been working with subpar weapons since they arrived since her favorite vibroblade had been damaged in the crash. "Actually, ma'am, we will take the vibroblade. I've got enough credits for it."

Mag looked at him in shock. "Carth, really, it's okay."

He held up his hand. "How much will it be all together?"

The shopkeeper told him the total and he counted out the credits. Carth passed them to the woman and she handed him the supplies. "Have a great rest of your day!"

After they exited the shop, Carth passed the double-bladed vibrosword to Mag. "Here you go."

She took it from him and at the same time, glared. "Don't get me wrong, Carth, I really appreciate you buying this for me. But, it was a lot of money! And we don't exactly have it right now! We still have to buy extra comm links, food, and the droid!"

Carth put a friendly hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. I was playing Pazaak with Mission before I came to find you. And I still had some credits from the other night at the cantina. It's fine. We still have plenty of money left."

Mag looked at him with shock and a raised eyebrow. "Exactly how many credits did you take from the poor girl?"

"Poor? No way. She was cheating, so I cheated back to teach her a little lesson. I only got about a hundred off of her."

Mag rolled her eyes. "Well, thank you. I've needed a new blade for a while now. This will come in handy."

He smiled. "No problem, gorgeous. Let's hit the other stores before it gets to be too late in the day."

After Mag tucked her newly acquired vibroblade into her belt, the two set off for the general store. Immediately, she approached the front counter to ask for three sets of comm links. It was important that everyone was in the loop. The clerk didn't have any in stock up front but told Mag he had some in the back. While he went to go fetch them, Mag found Carth.

While she had been talking to the clerk, Carth had been stocking up on essentials. When Mag found him, he was almost done shopping. She looked one of the shelves and pulled something off of it. She passed it to him.

Carth looked down and saw that it was a shaving kit. He laughed. "Is this some kind of hint?"

"Maybe…" she said with a shrug.

He rubbed his hand over his jaw. He hadn't had a chance to shave since before the _Spire _crashed. "I think my beard makes me look dashing and mysterious."

Mag snorted. "Yeah, maybe for a Wookie."

Carth pretended to be offended and placed a hand on his chest. "Fine, fine. I'll shave." He said as he placed the kit into the basket.

The clerk paged Mag up to the front counter and the two of them walked up there. He had found three comm links and rang them up along with the other purchases. After Mag paid, they walked together to the droid shop.

When they entered, Mag was surprised that the shopkeeper was a young Twi'lek woman. She could hardly believe it. The people of the Upper City were usually so prejudiced. Carth and Mag approached her and explained the nature of their order. "Oh yes! I have completed that droid for Davik! He is top of the line. I'll go fetch him from my workshop."

Moments later, Janice, as she had introduced herself, returned with the small droid. "His name is T3-M4. I added several unique features to his programming, as per Davik's instructions. I've listed them all out into the manual."

Mag bent down next to the droid and patted its head. T3 clearly liked it because he chirped happily. Laughing, she asked how much he would cost.

"Two thousand credits."

She was relieved because Canderous had given her twenty-five hundred credits and she had been afraid that the droid would have cost more than that. Mag counted out the correct amount and passed it to Janice. "Thank you for your business. And pass my thanks onto Davik."

Before they left, Mag had one finally question. "Do you have any upgrades we can purchase? Not that your work isn't satisfactory, but just in case Davik wants to personalize him."

The girl nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! My selection is just over here on this wall."

They ended up picking up a flame thrower and an additional computer package for the droid. That used up the of the credits they had received from Canderous. After thanking Janice again for her services, the three set off for their apartment.

When they got back, Bastila was still meditating in the back bedroom. Mission was napping on the couch and Zaalbar was working on upgrading his bowcaster. The girl woke up when she heard the door open. She sat up and stretched her hands above her head. "Hey guys! You're back."

"Yup! And we brought a new friend!" Mag said.

Mission came running over to inspect the newest addition to their motley crew. "Oh! He is adorable! What's his name?"

"T3-M4. Do you want to help me attach the flame thrower that we bought for him?" Mag asked.

She threw a fist up in the air. "Yes! Let's do it!"

Carth watched as they disappeared into the second bedroom. He grabbed the shaving kit out of the bag and walked into the bathroom. When he was about halfway done taking his beard off, Carth heard a loud shriek from the bedroom. He came running out of the bathroom and nearly collided with Mag.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Mag swore. "I was trying to install the flamethrower and I crossed the wrong wires. It shot flames out and some of them hit me in the stomach."

Then she looked up at his face and started laughing. "Where did the other half of your beard go?"

Carth looked down and saw that Mag's shirt was burned. "Where did the other part of your shirt go?"

She swore again. "Touché, flyboy, touché."

He sighed. "Come on, let's go into the bathroom and take a look at this. If the burn is bad enough, we will have to take a trip down to Zelka's."

She followed him into the bathroom. "Sit on the counter." Carth instructed her.

Mag pushed herself up on the counter and removed her tank top. With the eyes of a trained soldier, he assessed the burn. It was red and angry but didn't spread very far. It was localized in the center of her stomach. "Well, the good news is, I think that you are going to live." he said with a hearty chuckle.

She playfully punched him in the arm. "I'm quite aware of that, flyboy. But, is it going to need a doctor?"

Carth shook his head. "I don't think so. I'll put some burn cream and a kolto patch on it, but that should take care of the problem. But seriously, please be more careful next time. You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days."

"I will, I promise. I know exactly what I did wrong."

He shook his head again. "Oh no. I'm going to finish shaving and you're going to wait for me to finish installing the flame thrower."

Mag glared but conceded. "Fine, you finish making yourself look human again. I'm going to go find a new shirt since this one is ruined."

Bastila was snapped out of her mediation by all of the commotion. She wandered out of the bedroom and into the living room. "What's going on? Where are Mag and Carth?"

Mission looked at Bastila and said with a sly smirk. "I think they are in the bathroom, playing doctor."

She shot Mission an irritated look and went to go find Carth and Mag. But, she didn't have to because Mag came out of the bathroom. She was only wearing her bra. "What's going on?" Bastila demanded to know.

"Nothing major. I accidently crossed two wires on T3's flame thrower and it burned me and ruined my shirt. Carth was helping me patch it up." Mag said as she went into the room to find a clean top.

Bastila followed her into the room. Mag turned around. "How are you feeling? Did the meditation help?"

She nodded. "It did, thank you. I've been meaning to ask you something, Miss Tetra."

Mag gave her a quizzical look. "First of all, you can call me Mag. Everyone does. Second of all, what is it?"

Bastila sat down on the edge of one of the beds. "First of all, I would like to apologize for what I said earlier. I was under a lot of stress, but that doesn't mean I should have lashed out at you. I'm sorry."

Mag was a little shocked, she hadn't expected a seemingly heartfelt apology from the Jedi. "Thank you, Bastila. I'm sorry for storming out."

Bastila didn't respond, but instead continued with her query. "When we first met down on the swoop bike track, you seemed to freeze in the middle of the fighting. Your face was blank. What happened?"

Sighing, Mag sat down on the bed next to Bastila. "I meant to ask you about that. I saw you, actually. Fighting me. I was wearing a heavy mask, so I can only assume that I was Revan. It was weird and over as quickly as over as it had started."

Bastila pursed her lips together. "I see. That is very strange. The only thing that I can think of is my state of duress, I allowed you to glimpse one of my recent and intense memories. Once we get off this planet, I will discuss it further with some of the Jedi masters."

"Okay, that's fine. By the way, could you come with me into the living room? I want to discuss the plan with everyone."

She nodded, and the two women exited the bedroom. While walking down the hallway, Mag poked her head into the second bedroom. "Carth, Mission, could you take a break from upgrading T3? We need to discuss the plan."

The other two nodded and followed her. "Come on, T3. We will finish your upgrades later." Mission said.

The droid beeped and rolled out behind Mission. Everyone took a seat in the living room and Mag spoke. "So, while I was out, one of Davik's debt collectors requested a meeting with me. His name is Canderous Ordo."

"I've heard of him. You don't want Davik to send him after you!" Mission exclaimed.

Mag nodded. "Yeah, exactly. He isn't too happy with his situation and wants to get out of it. Long story short, he has a ship for us to use. All we need to do is to get the launch codes from the Sith base."

Bastila shook her head in disbelief. "All we have to do? You do realize what you're saying, right?"

Carth spoke up. "I know, it's going to be difficult. But it is our only option. And let's be honest, between the six of us, we will manage something."

T3 chirped happily and that helped to break the tension. Mag stood up and grabbed a spare datapad so she could type out their plan. "Okay, so here's what I was thinking…."

Carth pulled on the collar of the stolen Sith uniform. Mission and Mag had taken a quick trip to the Lower City the night before and convinced Gadon to let them borrow it for a few days. It was not only itchy, but hot because it was made of a heavy wool. Carth could feel the sweat trickling down his forehead and wiped it off on his sleeve.

He approached Mission and sat down on the couch next to her. "Hey Mish, I'm going to warn you, I have to be a little rough. I don't mean any of it, but we need to be convincing. If I say something rude, please know that it is just an act."

Mission smiled and put her hand on Carth's arm. "I know, Carth. Thanks. By the way, we haven't really had time to talk about our fight a few days ago. I shouldn't have got so upset. I just don't like it when people think I can't do things just because I'm young."

Carth smiled at her. "I'm sorry too, Mission. We are all under a lot of stress. Mag and I consider you a valuable part of this team and we are lucky to have you around."

The girl's face broke into a wide smile. "You really mean that? Thanks!"

He laughed. "Oh, you know, kids are like that. They need to hear encouragement every once in a while."

Mission stood up. "What do you mean 'kids are like that'? Listen to me, old man…"

Then, she saw that Carth was clutching his sides, laughing. Mission sat back down. "Oh, I see what you did there. Very funny."

He smiled and shrugged. Then, Mag walked out with Bastila. They were both wearing all black and their hair was slicked back into smooth buns. Mission giggled. "You guys look like spies or something."

Mag laughed. "That's the point Mission. Will you grab Zaalbar and the droid, so we can head out? We have a busy day ahead of us."


End file.
